


Bloodstained Bonds

by Rennaren



Series: Ties that Bind [1]
Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Rating May Change, Tags to be added as needed, character tags will be added as they appear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2020-05-14 11:05:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 35,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19271998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rennaren/pseuds/Rennaren
Summary: A major part of Allen Walker's story, as well as that of his fellow exorcists and Order members, began with Allen's arrival at the Black Order. However his is not the only story that can be told concerning members of the Black Order, and in this telling of the events of D Gray-man some characters will play a larger role, eventually changing the course of events.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **The beginning of this story is set approximately two years before the events at the start of the series.**

“Master, they’re coming.” said Marie half turning toward where General Tiedoll and Yuu Kanda were working to get through the protective barrier surrounding the Innocence they had been sent to retrieve. 

Glancing up from his supervision of Kanda’s efforts, which were becoming more visibly frustrated the longer success eluded them, Tiedoll’s eyes scanned the area momentarily before settling on his other apprentice. “How many Akuma are there Marie?”

Frowning slightly the tall, broad shouldered man cupped one hand against the earpiece of the headphones he wore, listening intently before replying. “Six… no seven of them in the first wave. There could still be more coming after that.” 

“Hmm, …then we’re running out of time.” murmured Tiedoll under his breath, seeming almost as if he were talking to himself. 

Kanda huffed, picking himself up of the ground from where he had been thrown when he was repelled once again by the Innocence’s barrier. A slight swish of movement sounded through the air accompanied Kanda’s annoyed grunt as he swung Mugen out to his side, clearing the dust from its blade which had gathered when the sword had fallen from Kanda’s grasp. “Tch,… then we’ll just have to quit wasting time, drop all the ‘finesse’ junk, and bust through this barrier.”

“Yuu, have a little patience…” began Tiedoll returning his attention to Kanda with a soft sigh, his tone mildly paternal. 

A low growl cut through whatever else Tiedoll might have said as Kanda shot him a dark look. “Quit calling me that, old man.” muttered Kanda spinning away on his heel after a moment to storm off toward where the Akuma were approaching from. “You can sit here and be patient if you want. …I’m going to deal with the Akuma.” Having said that Kanda darted off, the glow of Mugen’s blade flaring to life under his touch, as he covered the distance with rapid leaps and strides.

“…Master?...” asked Marie his expression questioning as he turned away from Kanda’s retreating form, waiting for Tiedoll’s instructions.

Tiedoll shook his head at his younger apprentice’s aggressive, teenage impulsiveness, before nodding in confirmation to Marie’s unspoken question as the first of the oncoming Akuma rose into sight above the tree line. “…Go with him Marie.” 

Wordlessly Marie lowered his head in a solemn nod before setting off after Kanda. 

Once Marie had gone, General Tiedoll stood watching for a moment as the first of the akuma in the distance fell to Kanda’s blade, the teenage exorcist having reached the front of the group. Letting out a breath Tiedoll returned his gaze to the Innocence in front of him, a portion of his attention remaining on the battle taking place in the distance. Between Kanda and Marie both, he knew that the Akuma would be easily taken care of, and that more than likely Marie’s primary role would end up being that of restraining Kanda from pushing too far. The young Asian exorcist, who appeared to be in his early to mid-teens, possessed a reckless disregard for avoiding physical harm, which was not at all helped by his remarkable healing abilities. Still both Marie and Kanda alike were his precious pupils, so he would readily abandon his task of collecting the Innocence, and step in if need be.

Some distance away from General Tiedoll, Mugen swung through the air with a barely audible hum, unearthly white creatures bursting from its blade at Kanda’s command as he targeted another of the Akuma. The creatures swarmed toward a second Akuma in a vicious, deadly cloud shredding through its metal skin, causing the sinister machine to disintegrate with a violent explosion. 

As Marie drew up alongside him the strands of his Innocence, Noel Organon already unfurling from his fingers, Kanda spared the other man a brief glance before gunfire raked the ground between them. A level two and several more level one Akuma hovered in the air above them, and in the distance Marie could faintly hear the metallic grinding that indicated a second wave of Akuma were closing in on their location. 

“Kanda, there are more of them on the way.” said Marie as both he and Kanda leapt apart to avoid the Akuma’s next round of gunfire and give themselves more room to fight. 

Even without his headphone’s enhancement of his hearing Marie could easily perceive the ruthless smirk in Kanda’s voice as the teenage exorcist replied. “Then we’ll be waiting for them… right after we wipe out these. …The level two on the left is mine.” added Kanda, the words ending in a battle cry as he launched himself up from the ground, shouting out a command to Mugen for his next attack as he swung the weapon. 

Marie nodded in agreement, sending the strands of his Innocence toward the level ones with a flick of his wrist. The metallic threads tangled themselves around the Akuma binding them tightly, preventing them from moving, though Marie could feel the tugs and pulls through the wires as the Akuma fought to escape. Clapping his hands together in front of him, the waves of sound created by Noel Organon’s aria reverberated around Marie and the Akuma he had snared, triggering their destruction. Marie could feel the strings of Noel Organon fall loose as the sound of the Akuma’s explosion faded, and turned his attention toward tracking the movements of his comrade, checking up on the progress of Kanda’s battle with the level two he had chosen to fight. 

After a moment of Marie picked out the sound of Kanda’s heartbeat, pulsing quick and fast with adrenaline as he fought with the level two Akuma. As he listened Marie could also hear the smooth rush of Innocence slicing through steel, along with the quieter sound of panted breaths ending in a huff of effort as Kanda jumped off of and away from the damaged Akuma. A quiet thump followed, momentarily stilling the rustling of grass nearby as Kanda landed in a half crouch, Akuma oil raining down from above to patter against the ground around him, before a tremendous explosion blotted out all other sounds. 

When the near deafening noise fell silent Kanda gave a satisfied sounding grunt as he flicked his sword through the air to remove the remaining traces of Akuma oil from Mugen’s blade. Stepping back toward where he had been, both he and Marie braced themselves to wait for the next wave of Akuma that had been detected earlier. 

 

Meanwhile a short distance away from Kanda and Marie’s battle with the Akuma, General Tiedoll was beginning to make progress toward breaking through the barrier in order to collect the Innocence. While the barrier around the sculpted fountain that held the Innocence was indeed strong he had found that certain portions, unlike the side which the sculpted figure of a woman was facing which Kanda had been attacking earlier, the sections that lay outside the statue’s sight were weaker. By moving in a slowly inward curving half circle pattern, Tiedoll was now close enough that within a few more repetitions he would be close enough to touch the lip of the fountains lowest basin. From there it would hopefully only be a simple matter of stretching high enough to remove the small globe that contained the Innocence from the statue’s hand.

“…Now then,…” murmured Tiedoll coming to a stop at the side of the fountain a minute or so later, resting one hand on the rim as spoke. “You’ve allowed me to come this close,… are there any further challenges you’re going to present?” _…Still…_ continued Tiedoll to himself. _…I am glad that it is beginning to seem as if damaging such a fine work of art as this will prove to be unnecessary. Apart from the removal of the Innocence itself, of course._

Turning his gaze away from the glowing green orb of Innocence, Tiedoll shifted his focus toward the direction that Kanda and Marie had gone. Judging by the lack of noise after that last large explosion, the battle had reached a temporary lull, while his students awaited the arrival of the second group of Akuma which Marie had predicted might come. While Tiedoll was grateful for the slow approach that had given him ample time to study and appreciate the fountain’s beauty, he decided that it was best that he hurry to finish his task now. The sooner they were able to retrieve the Innocence that was drawing the Akuma to this area and endangering the villages surrounding the plain and nearby forest, the better. 

Tiedoll turned back to the fountain in front of him as the report of heavy gunfire began to echo across the clearing once more. Reassuring himself that Kanda and Marie had the situation in hand Tiedoll settled his attention fully on his own task. Letting out a breath Tiedoll closed his eyes for a moment then following some instinct he couldn’t quite explain, dipped his hand into the faintly glowing water, swirling it around so that it splashed up to thoroughly soak his skin to the wrist. Lifting his dripping hand from the water Tiedoll reached up toward the sphere of Innocence, his fingertips being rewetted by the trickle of water that streamed from the small slit that lay between it and the woman’s palm. 

A faint tingling sensation traveled across Tiedoll’s hand as he came into contact with the Innocence, causing him to pause for a moment before pushing forward. He had just taken the Innocence in hand and was lifting it from its base when a violent cracking sound, as if part of the forest was being felled split the air along with a shout, followed by a pained yell. Tiedoll instantly recognized the first voice as Marie’s calling Kanda’s name, just before Kanda had cried out in pain. 

Wasting no more time Tiedoll yanked the Innocence free, cramming it hastily into his coat pocket as he ran toward the site of the conflict, Maker of Eden already in hand and activated.

Upon reaching the scene a quick glance showed Tiedoll more than a dozen Akuma, which were a mix of level ones and twos, circling Marie who was slicing them apart with his Innocence as quickly as he could. Kanda was nowhere in sight but a line of fallen and smashed trees leading deeper into the forest gave some indication of where he might be.

“Art!” proclaimed Tiedoll as he brought the two parts of his Innocence together, with a flash of light, driving the end of the chisel into the soil. In response a glowing, slightly translucent arm rose from the earth, its hand smashing into the nearest Akuma slamming it to the ground.

“Marie, I’ll take care of things here now. Go to Kanda.” ordered Tiedoll as he came to a stop beside the eldest of his three students.

Marie nodded and quickly turned toward the destroyed trees, confirming that much of Tiedoll’s assumption about what had happened. 

As Marie departed one of the Akuma broke away from the group to pursue him, only to be caught by the grip of the arm Tiedoll had formed earlier. “Leave him.” commanded Tiedoll, his tone shockingly cold for a man that typically brimmed with warmth and humor. He eyed the other Akuma warningly as he continued speaking. “Your fight is with me now, Akuma. …I’ll no longer allow you to harm my precious children so imprudently.” 

Raising Maker of Eden once more, Tiedoll slammed the cross piece down onto the chisel. “Art!” 

A pair of giant figures rose from out of the ground to tower over the treetops, they hesitated only a moment before moving as one to attack the swarming Akuma. The screams of dying Akuma filled the air around Tiedoll as his creations began tearing the Akuma apart, his face was stony as he watched the carnage, his cloak billowing and twisting behind his shoulders as the force of explosions all around him kicked up dust and wind. 

As silence returned to the clearing a few minutes later, save for the soft sound of leaves shifting in the wind as a normal breeze resumed, Tiedoll let out a breath his shoulders sagging. Turning, he tucked Maker of Eden away as he hurried toward the swath of destroyed trees where Marie had been headed. Winding his way through the rubble of broken branches and shattered tree trunks Tiedoll came to where Marie was working to dig his way through a massive pile of them.

“Marie…” called Tiedoll as he approached, a concerned frown coming to his face once he saw what Marie was doing.

“Master, Kanda is under here.” said Marie in response to the unspoken question that might have been the next thing asked, momentarily turning his head toward the sound of Tiedoll’s voice. 

Tiedoll’s breath caught at Marie’s words feeling a surge of dread rising in his stomach, even though he knew that Kanda was able to recover from virtually any injury, but he started forward without any visible hesitation to begin helping Marie clear away the mound of debris to rescue Kanda. The two men worked together for some time, at one point assisted by the giants created by General Tiedoll’s Innocence in moving the larger tree trunks, before finally managing to shift enough of the fallen trees out of the way to reach Kanda. 

Pushing back his initial reaction to the obvious signs of the injuries Kanda had sustained General Tiedoll moved toward Kanda’s head, carefully positioning his arms around his student’s upper body to support Kanda’s head and neck as much as possible while lifting him. “Marie,… help me lay him out flat over there where it’s clear.” 

Marie quickly moved to obey gathering up Kanda’s legs, one arm moving to try to support his hips as well, wincing as he heard the faint grinding of shattered bone fragments moving against each other. As they settled Kanda on a flat, relatively clear patch of ground to one side of what remained of the pile of trees he had been buried in, Marie cocked his head to one side listening for a moment before looking back toward Tiedoll with alarm. “Master, his breathing stopped!” 

Tiedoll’s eyes widened at Maries statement, and he moved to kneel hastily at Kanda’s side one hand already reaching for the young exorcist’s shoulder. “Yu, no…” he murmured, clearing his throat before continuing more firmly. “Yu,… wake up!” commanded Tiedoll lightly slapping Kanda’s cheek in an attempt to rouse him. 

“Kanda!” called Marie kneeling at Kanda’s other side, opposite Tiedoll, as he pressed one hand to his headphones monitoring Kanda’s heartbeat while listening for the faintest hint of his breathing resuming.

A handful of breathless moments passed as Tiedoll continued trying revive Kanda, then a wet, agonized gasp broke the silence as Kanda suddenly inhaled. Sagging as tears of relief welled in his eyes, Tiedoll reached out to tenderly brush Kanda’s bangs back from his forehead. “Yu,… you mustn’t scare your father like that.”

Marie let out a breath, bowing his head for a moment as he reached out to rest a hand on Kanda’s other shoulder as the sound of Kanda’s breathing began to stabilize. 

Looking back up briefly Tiedoll reached out to carefully shift Kanda’s head and neck so that they weren’t twisted or turned to one side. Afterwards he scooted sideways taking hold of Kanda’s arm, pulling lightly on it before stretching it out to lay straight along Kanda’s side.  
“Quickly now,… We need to make sure his body and limbs are straight so that any broken bones will heal properly.” instructed Tiedoll making sure that Marie had heard him and moved to obey. 

When Tiedoll and Marie had finished their task, with Tiedoll verbally fussing over Kanda while they worked, the general finally found a moment to turn his attention to his other student. “…And you Marie, are you all right? You weren’t injured?” asked Tiedoll frowning slightly in concern as he studied Marie for any sign that he had also been hurt. 

Marie shook his head giving the general a small reassuring smile, as he reached across Kanda to rest a hand on his master’s shoulder. “No, I’m fine.”

Tiedoll let out a loud sigh. “Ah,… that’s good.” He murmured, finally allowing the worried tears he had been holding back to flow. “I’m glad…” continued Tiedoll, his voice beginning to choke up. He wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand, as he began crying in earnest. “I’m just-… so glad you’ll both be-… all right…” 

On the ground between Tiedoll and Marie, Kanda stirred slightly then turned his head to cough out a mouthful of blood before speaking. “…Shut up,… old man…” panted Kanda, sounding a bit breathless as he let his head drop back to its former position. “…Quit… bawling.”

Marie and Tiedoll both chuckled softly, feeling reassured that Kanda would recover with time if he was already displaying his usual abrasive attitude. Sniffling Tiedoll rested one hand on Kanda’s shoulder as he began to compose himself, pushing his glasses onto his forehead to wipe his nose and eyes on the back of his sleeve. As Kanda huffed at them in annoyance, likely shooting a glare at both himself and their master, Marie simply smiled quietly settling his hands in his lap as he relaxed.

Sighing Tiedoll sat back, keeping his hand on Kanda’s shoulder and squeezing it reassuringly in time with the faint hitches of pain in Kanda’s breath as his body began working to knit itself back together. Now that the crisis had passed and there was a moment of calm while they waited for Kanda to heal enough to be moved, looking back and forth between his students, Tiedoll finally took the opportunity to ask about what happened.

“We were all right until just after the second wave of Akuma…” began Marie absently running his fingers across the rings of his Innocence as he spoke. “Kanda was taking care of a more difficult level two, and I was handling a mixed group of ones and a level two that seemed to have recently evolved. …There must have been another level two that was hiding while we were distracted by the others. It sounded like Kanda had been hit by the Akuma he was already fighting, and had just gotten back up when it came out of the brush behind him. …It managed to grab hold of Kanda, and threw him with enough force to break through all the trees that were destroyed. …I wasn’t fast enough to stop it before it could…”

“I see…” murmured Tiedoll when Marie had finished, glancing down for confirmation at Kanda, whose lips were twisted in an annoyed grimace as he closed his eyes turning away from Tiedoll’s inspection. 

“Were you able to collect the Innocence Master?” asked Marie pulling Tiedoll’s attention back to himself before Tiedoll could press Kanda for more. 

“Ah, yes. …I have it right here.” said Tiedoll pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose before reaching into the pocket of his uniform coat and withdrawing the glowing green piece of Innocence. 

Between Marie and Tiedoll Kanda sat up with a grunt, hissing quietly between clenched teeth as he wrapped one arm around his torso to support his still healing ribs. “…Then there’s no reason to stick around here any more.” Kanda muttered as he shifted, intending to push himself to his feet. 

Tiedoll reached out to stop Kanda, only to be brushed off with a sharp “Tch”. Tiedoll watched for a moment as Kanda managed to get his legs under himself long enough to stand before swaying and stumbling a few steps sideways before being able to catch himself on the trunk of a tree that was still standing. 

“Yu,… at least let one of us help you… You were badly hurt, and shouldn’t be moving.” said Tiedoll as he and Marie got to their feet as well.

“I’m already healed.” retorted Kanda in an aggravated growl, locking his knees to keep himself from slumping to the ground as he straightened away from the tree he was leaning against to make his way over to the pile he had been buried under. Gritting his teeth to suppress a groan as he bent to retrieve Mugen, Kanda slid the weapon into its sheath before turning toward the village that he, Marie, and Tiedoll had been staying at.

Tiedoll sighed as he scratched the back of his head while watching Kanda, who was utterly resistant at the moment to any attempt to assist him. “…At least rest once we get back to the inn,… There’s no reason we can’t extend our stay here.”

“Whatever.” muttered Kanda as he continued walking, leaving Marie and Tiedoll to follow behind him.

In spite of Kanda’s insistence that he was fine and had already healed sufficiently, by the time they reached the edge of the village Marie had taken hold of Kanda’s elbow along the way, and it appeared from Tiedoll’s perspective behind the two young men that Marie was subtly supporting the teenage exorcist as they walked. _…Yu is ever the stubborn child…_

As they reached the inn Tiedoll picked up his pace slightly to move past the pair, noting a faint pinch at the corners of Kanda’s eyes that indicated he was straining to mask his exhaustion and the residual pain of his freshly healed wounds. By now Kanda was leaning more heavily against the support Marie offered seeming as if only his powerful force of will and the efforts of his fellow exorcist were all that was keeping him upright. Kanda walked with his head slightly bowed while they made their way up the stairs to the room the three of them were sharing, stumbling slightly over the threshold as he entered once Tiedoll had opened the door. 

Marie and Tiedoll entered the room as Kanda made a beeline toward the bed closest to the corner of the room, with as much stability as he could manage while still trying to make the short walk seem casual after having shrugged off Marie’s hand on his upper arm. He barely took the time to undo and remove his boots before collapsing onto the mattress. Kanda settled Mugen on the bed beside him, keeping his hand loosely wrapped around the sheath as his breathing deepened, easing toward unconsciousness and sleep.

Across the room Tiedoll watched for a moment as Kanda settled himself then looked over at Marie. “Now Marie, if you aren’t too tired as well …Shall we see about finding someone who will sell us some meals? I think we could all use a good supper. …And I’m sure that Yu would appreciate having something to eat too once he wakes from his nap.” 

A snort that carried only half its usual level of derision came from Kanda’s side of the room. “…’M not asleep old man.” muttered Kanda without opening his eyes, the half-asleep tone of his voice sounding very much like that of a pouting child insisting that he wasn’t tired. 

“Of course not.” replied Tiedoll with a tolerant, fondly paternal smile as Kanda huffed in response. Touching Marie’s elbow briefly to signal that they were leaving the general turned toward the door looking back over his shoulder. “…We should return shortly.” Tiedoll added watching as Kanda carefully rolled onto his side giving them both his back as he curled slightly around Mugen.


	2. Chapter 2

In spite of Tiedoll’s statement to Kanda that they would return soon, Marie noted that he and his master had been wandering the city for quite a while longer than he had expected. After all, there had been a number of small cafés, pubs and even a few houses, where someone would likely have been willing to provide them with a meal, much closer to the inn. Instead Marie found the sounds of the more business oriented district of the city giving way to the sounds and faint underlying stench that he had learned during his travels to associate with slums and back alleys that never failed to retain a constant layer of filth in spite of anyone’s efforts to remove it. 

Marie absently rested his fingertips on one side of his headphones turning his head from side to side as he continued following the sound of his master’s footsteps, taking note of the absent chatter of housewives doing their laundry outside the door of their houses and the shouts of children who chased each other in and out of the slow moving traffic on the street as they played some game they had concocted using whatever meager possessions they had. Moving a bit closer to Tiedoll, Marie bent his head, speaking on in low voice. “Master… what are we doing here? …There must have been someplace closer to the inn where we could have gotten a meal…” 

“Hmm?...” murmured Tiedoll pausing to turn back toward Marie. “…Oh,… yes I imagine there was.”

Marie sighed to himself, it wasn’t as if such behavior as random wandering was atypical for his master, but it usually involved sketching a particularly picturesque bit of scenery or stopping to look at some bit of local art that he had heard about. Neither of which explained their current presence in the slum of a moderately sized city that, while not known for attracting tourists, had more appealing areas to pass time in. It made little sense to Marie when compared with the general’s past behavior, especially at a time when one of their number had been recently injured and was still recovering. A situation which inevitably brought out Tiedoll’s doting nature over the wellbeing of his apprentices. 

“Then… why…?” asked Marie a faint frown crossing his features.

A faintly uncertain frown crossed Tiedoll face for a moment as he scratched his head, his frown gradually shifting to a more thoughtful expression as he tilted his head seeming to be listening to some internal voice. After a few minutes the general simply smiled in reply, his smile warming and growing a bit softer as the group of playing children darted along the edge of the curb in front of where he and Marie had paused to talk. “I suppose that I wanted to see it. …After all, even in the darkest of places beauty can still be found by those who seek to find it. …Don’t you agree, Marie?” 

Humming softly in response, Marie resigned himself to spending a bit longer wandering before making a second attempt to prompt their return to the task they had originally left the inn for, continuing to follow as General Tiedoll resumed walking. The noises around them which indicated to Marie that they were passing homes were growing fainter with gaps in between, a sign that they were reaching the fringes of the most habitable part of the slums and moving into the portions that were beginning to fall into disrepair and be abandoned by the more well off individuals and families, leaving the street mostly empty apart from an occasional passerby.

From the shadows of one of the nearby alleyways a pair of pale blue eyes watched as the two men continued down the street a short ways before pausing to look at the display left in the front window of what had once been a dry goods store as the older man called his companion over. The owner of the eyes could see how out of place the men seemed, wearing their expensive looking and spotless clothing, wandering around with a carefree air. Not having a crowd to disappear into would make things more difficult, but a pair of strangers weren’t likely to know their way through the back alleyways and abandoned buildings. It was enough of an advantage to make them worth targeting. 

After walking a bit further Marie began to notice the feeling of being watched and now that he listened more attentively could pick up the sound of a nearby heartbeat that seemed closer than any he had picked up already from the buildings nearby. Frowning slightly he turned toward where Tiedoll had paused in front of one of the buildings lining the curb. “Master…” 

“Yes,… I sensed it too Marie. Someone has been watching us.” said Tiedoll lightly interrupting Marie’s words as he turned his head just enough to look over his shoulder out of the corner of his eye, while casually waving Marie closer. “…Come over here,… Let’s let them come to us.” 

Nodding Marie stepped closer to Tiedoll, guided by the general’s brief touch on his elbow he turned to face the building they stood in front of, pretending to look at something in what he assumed was a large window.

While the two men were distracted the figure that had been watching them moved closer, keeping her steps deliberately light, knowing that would help her avoid making a noise that they might be able to hear. She had already decided on the older man whose clothing seemed just slightly more ornate, and who seemed as if he might keep whatever money he had in an easier to reach place, unlike the other man whose money pouch or wallet would be somewhere around her chin level. Shifting her gaze back to the older man the figure paused, her eyes focusing in on the man’s coat pocket, as some instinct drew her attention toward whatever was inside it. Abandoning the idea of going after the man’s money she slipped casually between a worker headed back from his day’s work and the older man her sights had been set on. She lifted a hand as she passed by him, slowing her pace so as not to accidently tug on the coat’s fabric as she slid her hand inside. Less than a moment passed before her fingers grazed an object which sent a warm, tingling sensation up her arm as she closed her hand around it, distracting her for a moment from the hand that suddenly clamped around her wrist as she started to withdraw.

Tiedoll continued speaking quietly with Marie about inconsequential things as he felt a hand inserting itself into the pocket where he had placed the Innocence they had collected earlier. He was surprised by how light the touch was, enough so that if he hadn’t been already on the alert he may not have felt anything, even as he felt himself stiffen when he realized that the Innocence concealed inside was definitely the intended target.

Holding his breath for an instant as he felt the hand start to withdraw, one part of his mind hoping that Marie was also prepared for an attack in the event this was a somewhat clever Akuma in disguise, Tiedoll reached down to grip the wrist connected to the hand firmly as he swiftly turned toward it’s owner.

Upon turning Tiedoll was confronted with the sight of a young girl who jerked back, releasing the Innocence as her hand left his pocket and she began struggling against his hold on her. Momentarily surprised Tiedoll’s grip relaxed on the thin wrist that his hand had entirely encircled, allowing her to pull free. Marie had moved to close in on the girl from behind as she stumbled backwards due to the force she had used to pull free from Tiedoll and bent down to catch hold of her arms as she turned to run, bumping into his legs instead.

“Be careful Marie!” called Tiedoll, still not certain if they were dealing with an Akuma or something else. Though by now, most Akuma would have taken the opportunity to attack, rather than simply putting up a fight by kicking and struggling to get away as the girl was currently doing. Tiedoll watched for a few minutes as Marie wrestled the girl around, all the while trying to reassure her, in order to hold her more securely with her back against him while he wrapped an arm around her waist, slowly beginning to consider other possibilities. While the probability of the child being a simple pickpocket remained high, she had also seemed to deliberately be after the Innocence.

 _…Also,…_ thought Tiedoll recalling the brief moment when the girl had come into contact with the Innocence in his pocket. _…For a moment I thought I might have sensed,… something…_

Crouching down in front of Marie and the child, whose full attention appeared to be focused on escaping from Marie’s grasp, Tiedoll extended a hand toward the girl in a calming gesture. “It’s all right child. You don’t have to be afraid, we’re not going to harm you.” murmured Tiedoll, keeping his tone soft and soothing.

As Tiedoll spoke the girl’s gaze flickered toward him, her efforts at escape weakening as a faint frown came to her face. “That’s right.” continued Tiedoll offering her a reassuring smile. “Just calm down, and you’ll be fine. …Can you tell us your name?” he added after a moment.

Rather than reply the girl simply continued staring at Tiedoll, still wearing the same faintly confused frown. It was an odd reaction, but Tiedoll supposed that it was possible that in spite of the apparent homogenous cultural background of the town’s residents, the girl didn’t speak English. He tried again this time speaking a bit more slowly and clearly. “…Can you understand me? …Will you tell us your name?”

This time an expression of understanding came to the girl’s face, though tinged with suspicion, as she finally stopped fighting against Marie’s hold on her. In response Marie slowly relaxed his grip, allowing the girl to pull her hand free. Still watching Tiedoll with distrustfully narrowed eyes, she covered one ear with her hand and shook her head before touching her throat and repeating the head shake. 

“Huh,… I see.” murmured Tiedoll a note of understanding coming to his tone after spending a few moments figuring out what the girl was trying to communicate. 

“What is it Master?” asked Marie frowning a bit, having missed out on the nonverbal portion of the conversation. 

Tiedoll’s gaze moved toward Marie as he explained. “Ah,… I believe I understand something about this child now.” He shifted his focus to include the girl as he continued. “She isn’t able to hear. …Isn’t that right?” asked Tiedoll pointing to his ear with a minute shake of his head to clarify what he was saying.

The girl had worn a frown for the majority of the time that Tiedoll was speaking, looking as if she were piecing together his words as much as he had been her gestures. Finally as Tiedoll clarified what he was saying the girl nodded, her expression relaxing a bit. 

“I see…” murmured Marie turning his face toward the girl for a moment as he released her before getting to his feet. As he stood the girl glanced back over her shoulder, warily moving a few steps away from the man who was now unintentionally looming over her. 

“Yes…” confirmed Tiedoll nodding slightly as he continued. “…And also, if my suspicion is correct. I believe that we may have found an accommodator for the Innocence we retrieved.” Tiedoll glanced around briefly to make sure that the area remained relatively clear and that they hadn’t drawn unwanted attention before reaching into his pocket and taking out the Innocence. Shifting a bit so that he was closer to being in the girl’s line of sight, Tiedoll waved his free hand to draw her attention away from Marie as he held out the Innocence. “…Is this what you were after?” he asked once the girl looked toward him.

As soon as the girl’s eyes caught sight of the Innocence in Tiedoll’s hands her gaze was riveted to it, his words going unnoticed as she stretched a hand out to touch it. As soon as her fingers came into contact with the Innocence it flared to life under her touch, the green glow it emitted brightening as she let out a surprised breath, her eyes widening.

Taking the girl’s other hand Tiedoll turned it palm up, tilting his hand so that the Innocence slid into hers. Once the Innocence came to rest fully in her palm faint waves of energy began to pulse from it, just strong enough that Marie was able to detect them as well judging by his murmured reaction. Sitting back on his heels after a moment Tiedoll allowed himself a slight, satisfied smile. “…It would seem we have a great deal to talk about.” he said as he reached out to take the Innocence back, tucking it securely away in his bag, before it could attract unwanted attention to itself.

Pausing Tiedoll rubbed at his chin, the question now was how that talk might take place. Explaining The Order, Innocence, or the exorcist’s mission was far too complex a subject to effectively convey through the simple gestures they had used so far, and apart from the information those gestures had conveyed Tiedoll was uncertain how much of anything that he or Marie had said aloud without them had been understood. Shifting his focus back to the girl Tiedoll made sure she was looking at him before he began speaking. “Tell me child, …can you read or write?” asked Tiedoll, accompanying the question with gestures that resembled opening a book and using a finger to write on the palm of his other hand. 

The girl shrugged one shoulder, a hand lifting to tilt side to side briefly in response. 

Tiedoll took the gesture as one of either uncertainty, or perhaps an indication that she could read and write some, but simply not very well. Given her apparent age as younger than adolescent and the indications based on her extremely stained and worn dress, which judging by the length of the sleeves and hem was a size or two too small for her, that she may have been living on the streets for some time he assumed it was certainly a possibility that her education had been neglected. Tiedoll suspected her knew what the answer would be to the next question he intended to ask, but the day was drawing toward an end and they either needed to learn where the girl lived so that she could be delivered to her family and the discussion resumed then or during the following day, otherwise they should all go back to the inn and proceed from there. 

“Where are your parents?” asked Tiedoll looking back to the girl, watching for any clues in her reactions. “Where can I find your mother, or your father?”

As the girl’s eyes lowered to the cobblestones and she glanced away in response Tiedoll sighed, supposing that was as much of an answer as he would receive at the moment. Grunting softly as he got to his feet, rubbing at knees which had become stiff from remaining crouched down for so long, Tiedoll moved a bit closer to where Marie and the girl were, extending a hand as he put on a warm, reassuring smile. “In that case,… there is no reason to continue delaying our return to the inn. You should come with us child. Have something to eat, and a place to sleep for the night.” stated Tiedoll after the girl had returned her focus toward him at his approach, finishing his speech with a beckoning gesture to indicate that she should come along with he and Marie.

Frowning over the general’s words the girl hesitated briefly, flicking a wary glance back over her shoulder toward Marie before nodding, indicating with a motion of her hand that Tiedoll should lead the way. 

Upon their return to the inn where Tiedoll and his apprentices were staying the group made their way up the narrow, worn staircase to their room to find that Kanda was still asleep. Tiedoll turned toward Marie keeping his voice low as he spoke in order to avoid disturbing Kanda’s slumber. “Marie, will you please see to purchasing some food for all of us? I believe I recall seeing a pub across the street. …Meanwhile I’ll speak to the inn’s mistress to see about acquiring a change of clothes and some sort of sleeping accommodations for our young friend here.” 

Marie nodded accepting the money bag that Tiedoll handed him after a bit of rummaging through his bag to locate it. “Yes master…” As he started toward the door a faint smile crossed Marie’s lips and he shook his head closing the door behind himself once he was through it. It was just like Tiedoll to spend so much time wandering the city only to end up fulfilling the original purpose for having set out with something so close by, though knowing his master, General Tiedoll had probably somehow known that things would end up like they had.

As Marie left Tiedoll turned back toward the girl giving her a reassuring smile as he slowly reached out to rest a hand on her head ruffling her hair slightly. “Now if you’ll just wait here, Marie and I won’t be gone for long. Then we can have something to fill our stomachs and try to have a proper conversation about some things.” Tiedoll glanced back over his shoulder for a moment toward the bed where Kanda was curled up under the covers before continuing as he turned back toward the girl. “…And don’t mind Yu over there. Even if he wakes up, just stay put out of his way and he shouldn’t bother you.” 

When Tiedoll had gone, after giving her a final pat on the head, the girl looked around the room for a few minutes before taking a seat on a stool placed near a corner of the room, sitting so that she could keep an eye on both the unmoving figure in the bed and the room’s door while she thought. 

Pulling her legs up onto the stool’s seat, the girl wrapped her arms around them before resting her chin on her knees. She wasn’t sure what to make of all that had happened over the past couple of hours, certainly none of it had been what she had expected to occur, even after that strange old man had caught her trying to pick his pocket she had expected something more along the lines of an angry lecture which she would probably only make out portions of or at worst a partial beating before she managed to escape. She definitely had not expected him to react as he had, much less have her accompany him and his companion back to their warm room at an inn with what seemed to be the promise of food as well. There had also been that strange object the man had carried, the one that had flared to life with a green glow when he had placed it in her hands. Lifting one hand into her line of sight the girl frowned as she recalled the strange vibrating sensation that had run in waves through her hands and up her arms as she had held the object.

_…None of it really made any sense at all…_ The girl decided, though some part of her was curious to see if she would be able to figure any more of it out than she had. 

After she had been mulling things over for a while, a flash of movement from the bed caught her attention as its occupant flipped the covers off of himself and started to sit up, gritting his teeth a moment later as he grimaced slightly, stilling his movements. As she sat watching him the girl took note of the inky black hair that spilled around the boy’s shoulders and his vaguely foreign features. She had just come to the conclusion that he was probably several years older than she was, but younger than his two companions, when he noticed her presence. Wariness instantly sprung into his eyes as he tensed and looked over at her, frowning.

Kanda’s eyes narrowed leveling a glare at the unfamiliar girl who was sitting across the room staring at him, as he demanded to know who she was and what she was doing there. As he spoke Kanda looked away, keeping a watch on the girl out of the corner of his eye, scanning the room for any sign of Tiedoll or Marie’s presence. Looking back at the girl, who continued to sit wordlessly, Kanda clicked his tongue in annoyance at her persistent lack of response. 

“Where are Tiedoll and Marie?” demanded Kanda, a growl creeping into his voice as he glanced toward the door once more, trying to decide if he would need to attempt to make some sort of escape.

After staring at each other for a few moments the raven haired boy took a breath and opened his mouth, but he had barely begun speaking before he looked away, his mouth continuing to move without pause. Shifting slightly on the stool the girl frowned and craned her neck trying to make out what he was saying. After a moment he looked back toward her, his expression twisting in irritation as he spoke through gritted teeth, once again looking away toward the door. Frowning in confusion the girl followed his gaze, trying to figure out what he was talking about. As she started to turn back, a boot thudded against the wall beside her, causing a faint vibration to travel through the wall behind her which she was leaning against, jerking her full attention sharply to the boy. 

“Hey, brat! Don’t think you can just ignore me.” snarled Kanda as he pushed himself upright, the fingers of his free hand unconsciously curling around Mugen’s hilt as he let his gaze travel around the room once more. “You better tell me where General Tiedoll and Marie are, right now!”

The girl felt her exasperation beginning to build until she felt nearly as frustrated as the boy looked. Not only was he continuing to talk without looking at her, he also refused to look at her long enough for her to attempt to communicate with him. Now to top it off he had the nerve to throw a shoe at her before insulting her, and looking away once more afterwards. Springing up from her stool the girl stepped quickly across the room, reaching the side of the boy’s bed, she placed her hands firmly on either side of his face as he turned back toward her still in the process of saying something. 

Hearing footsteps rapidly approaching him Kanda spun back, finding his face being gripped moments later by the mysterious brat as she glared up at him while holding him in place for a moment before starting to draw back. As she did Kanda shoved her away with a baleful glare as he shouted. “Get off me! What’s your problem?!” 

The girl fell backwards from the force of Kanda’s push and just as she hit the floor, the door behind Kanda snapped open to reveal General Tiedoll, with Marie just behind him. Kanda half turned to look back over his shoulder at the pair as they entered the room. “Where have you two been all this time?! …And what is this kid doing here?!” At the corner of his vision Kanda saw the girl starting to get to her feet, openly glowering at him and seeming oblivious to the others behind him, as he looked back to shoot her a glare warning her not to try anything further.

“First of all Yu, calm down… and please explain what happened properly. We could hear your shouting even from down at the end of the hallway.” said Tiedoll firmly as he placed the folded bundle he was carrying on the end of the bed nearest him. On the other side of the room Marie began setting the food he had brought back out on a table in the room, looking as if he were trying to keep himself out of the conversation. 

Kanda gave an annoyed snort, his glare lingering on the girl for a few moments longer before he turned toward Tiedoll. “I woke up and this kid was staring at me.” began Kanda jabbing a thumb in the girl’s direction. “She wouldn’t say anything, then she just jumps up and grabs me! What the heck is she doing here anyway?!”

Tiedoll sighed, rubbing his forehead briefly before running a hand back through his hair. “…I see. She isn’t able to hear you, and most likely wasn’t able to make out what you were saying, Yu.” Tiedoll explained, drawing a disinterested sounding grunt from Kanda in reply before he continued. “…As to why she is here, that is a conversation which still needs to be had with the girl herself… The shortest version however, is that it seems that she is likely the accommodator for the Innocence we retrieved.”

“That pipsqueak is?” muttered Kanda disbelievingly, his gaze shifting to the side to where the girl stood looking back and forth between he and Tiedoll as they talked. 

Tiedoll shook his head, holding up a hand to forestall further conversation. “For now, let’s simply focus on getting ready to have supper, all right?”

As Kanda rose from his bed making his way across the room to where Marie was, muttering under his breath about how he could be expected to eat with such a stench in the room, Tiedoll summoned the girl to him with a gesture taking a moment to reassure her and make sure that she hadn’t been hurt by Kanda’s shove before sending her off with one of the innkeeper’s daughters to wash up and change into the handed down clothing that he had brought back to the room for her. 

Finally they had begun eating with Tiedoll, Marie and the girl gathered around the room’s table. Kanda had opted to eat his meal while sitting on the edge of his bed, refusing to be anywhere near the girl without complaint. The majority of the meal was conducted in silence apart from occasional bits of conversation between Tiedoll and Marie, or the odd muttered comment from Kanda. After he had finished his meal Tiedoll had taken out a sketchbook and had begun drawing something in it while the others continued eating. Sometime later he set the bit of charcoal he was sketching with aside, lifting the sketchbook for a moment to examine his work before reaching over and lightly tapping the girl’s shoulder to get her attention. 

The girl was working her way through a second helping when she felt Tiedoll’s tapping, and looked up to see that he had shifted to sit a bit closer to her, his open sketchbook sitting on the space on the table between them. On the pages were a series of drawings and as she looked at them Tiedoll’s finger came over to rest on the first of them, which was of Marie. Tiedoll then pointed to Marie himself before drawing her attention back to the picture and writing Noise Marie underneath it. The girl’s gaze flicked back and forth between the sketchbook and Marie for a moment before she nodded, after that Tiedoll repeated the procedure with two of the other drawings labeling them with Kanda’s name and his own. 

This left only the final drawing on the sketchbook’s pages, which was of a young girl with large eyes and short hair with slightly ragged ends in spite of now being combed. Tiedoll indicated the picture with a tap on the page before pointing to the girl beside him. Placing the bit of charcoal he had been writing with in her hand, he touched the space under the drawing momentarily before spreading his fingers as he put on a questioning expression, hoping that she would take the invitation to write her name. As he watched the girl hesitated for a few moments seeming to be thinking deeply before she pulled the sketchbook a bit closer, leaning over it as she worked. After a minute or so large, carefully carved letters in a childish hand spelled out the word GRACE, underneath the drawing. Tiedoll looked at the name for a moment then after tapping the girl’s shoulder once more to pull her attention back to him he looked down at her speaking a bit slower than usual to be sure he was understood. “…Your name, is Grace?” 

At the girl’s nod Tiedoll gave her a slight smile, resting a hand briefly on her head before allowing her to turn back to the remainder of her meal. It wasn’t much, not even the child’s full name, but it would give him at least something to work with.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, after informing Marie of his whereabouts and leaving him in charge of things at the inn, Tiedoll made his way back to the part of town where he and Marie had met Grace the day before. After reaching the area he had begun making inquiries, using the sketch he had done as a reference for Grace’s appearance as he tried to find out if there was anyone who knew more about her and who her parents might be. It had taken him some time, with so many of the houses in the area no longer being occupied or the residents only recently having moved in, but Tiedoll had finally found a woman who had recognized Grace from his sketch. 

“…They used to live down the way. Mother, father, her and the baby, but after the fever came through she was the only one left. After that most everyone what made it moved, wiped out half the families here anyway it did. …The girl was never right after her folks passed, got all quiet like and would just stare at people what tried to talk to her.” The woman shook her head, a frown crossing her face before she continued. “Some people tried to take her with them when they left but not a year later the girl popped up back again one day. ...Took up creeping her way through back alleys and stealing from honest folk after that. …Heard that the folks what took her ended up having to find her a place in an orphanage, too much trouble that one. ...Still ain’t none of us got time for looking after a filthy little thief, not even grateful for the folks what give her a place to sleep or try to find someone to care for her.” concluded the woman before spitting in the dirt between her and Tiedoll’s feet.

“I see…” murmured Tiedoll rubbing his chin as he took in the information he had been given. “This would have been how long ago? …And do you happen to recall what her family name is?” 

“Twas three years ago the fever came, the girl would have been around seven then…” answered the woman before pausing to frown in thought. “…Let’s see, what was it now? …Something like ‘mars’ or ‘martin’, I think.” Turning to look back over her shoulder the woman shouted to someone inside the house behind her. “…What was the name of those folks down the way? The nice ones what passed with their youngest.”

A few moments later a muffled response came forth, and the woman nodded seeming to be able to pick out what was said better than Tiedoll had. “That’s the one!” said the woman as she turned back to Tiedoll. “Marsden was the name.” 

“Thank you.” said Tiedoll nodding as he gave the woman a smile, while pressing a few coins into her hand. “…For your trouble.” 

Meanwhile back at the inn the sound of Marie playing quietly on the strings of Noel Organon pulled Kanda from sleep. It wasn’t that unusual in and of itself, after all Marie frequently would play his Innocence while they were waiting during a mission, either for his own enjoyment or for that of Tiedoll, Kanda, and Daisya as well. This time though was different, with Marie’s playing sounding strangely muffled. Frowning Kanda opened his eyes, reaching for Mugen as he tossed the covers back out of his way and sat up, already looking past the end of his bed toward the source of the music. 

Kanda clicked his tongue in annoyance at the sight that met his eyes. Sitting on the floor across the room Marie was indeed playing Noel Organon and sitting in Marie’s lap, wearing an intent expression as she watched him play, with her hands spread over the Innocence’s strings was the kid that the General and Marie had found the previous day. Kanda glanced around the rest of the room and after seeing that Tiedoll was absent he returned his attention to Marie, who appeared to have picked up on Kanda’s disgruntled awakening, still wearing a frown. “…Where’s the General gone?”

Marie continued playing softly without interruption as he answered. “General Tiedoll left earlier, and was planning to go back to where we found Grace to see if he could find out any more about her, since she most likely will be returning to the Order with us.” As he spoke Marie jostled Grace lightly on his knee, inclining his head toward Kanda for a moment once he felt she was looking at him, to alert her to the other exorcist’s presence in the conversation.

“Hmm.” grunted Kanda as he stood slinging his exorcist’s coat around his shoulders before shoving his arms into the sleeves, leaving the front of it unbuttoned. “…How long has he been gone now?” 

“…For several hours,… but Kanda… Master said that we should wait for him to return.” began Marie as Kanda stepped away from his bed after turning to pick up Mugen, swinging the strap of his weapon over one shoulder before starting toward the door. “…It’s better that we all stay together until then.”

Kanda’s gaze flickered over Marie and the girl in his lap who had been looking back and forth between he and Marie during the entirety of their conversation, his lips twisting angrily at the sight, before he turned away. “Whatever… I’m going to train. …Outside.” muttered Kanda, the faint growl in his tone clearly implying that he would not welcome company in doing so. 

“Kanda wait-…” called Marie as Kanda shut the door firmly behind him, falling barely short of slamming it. Sighing Marie shook his head lowering his hands into his lap as he allowed the strings of Noel Organon to vanish. After a moment he lifted one hand to rest it on Grace’s head noting that she was looking up at him, no doubt confused as to why he had suddenly stopped playing. Ruffling her hair slightly Marie gave the girl a reassuring smile. “Don’t mind Kanda too much,… he’ll come around. Eventually.” 

Once outside Kanda managed to find an open grassy area behind the inn which, while not as isolated as he would prefer, would do for the moment since he seemed to be the only one present. Closing his eyes Kanda took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before letting it out slowly before drawing Mugen from its sheath. Leaving the Innocence deactivated for the moment Kanda began running through a series of practice swings to begin warming up, before moving on to more complicated slashes and maneuvers, as he allowed his mind to drift slightly without losing complete touch with his surroundings. 

He wasn’t sure what it was about the current situation that bothered him so badly. 

_…If he was simply tired after the mission to retrieve the Innocence and the way things were now being drawn out to further delay their return to headquarters. …Or if it was the way that both Marie and Tiedoll seemed to fawn over and focus so much of their attention on the kid they had found. …Was it perhaps the brat herself and the way she seemed so willing to blindly go along with something that she probably had no real clue about. Not to mention the way that General Tiedoll appeared to be perfectly fine with going along with turning the kid into yet another exorcist for the Order._

Even while Kanda knew it wasn’t like the general had a real choice to do anything else, it still didn’t make him like it any better. And as far as the Black Order was concerned the brat was just another soldier, good for nothing but to be eaten alive and the pieces spit out by their never ending war. Scowling Kanda gritted his teeth, his grip tightening on Mugen’s hilt. 

_…The Order. They were the real problem. Anything else was just a secondary issue, and nothing more than window dressing to the fact that the sooner the Order burnt to the ground, the better._

Kanda froze in place for a moment, every muscle tensing before he let out a fierce shout, launching into a lightning quick series of slashes, parries, and thrusts with Mugen. The sound of a voice calling out his first name drew Kanda up short, and he paused panting slightly as he looked over to where General Tiedoll stood. 

“Don’t call me that.” muttered Kanda, in response to the General having called Kanda by his first name at least twice before getting his attention, as he lowered Mugen wiping at the sweat that had formed on his face with his sleeve. “…What do you want old man?”

General Tiedoll stepped toward Kanda his smile unwavering even when faced with Kanda’s annoyed glare. “…Now don’t be like that Yu. ...Marie told me that you were out here. Why don’t you come back inside now, so that I can tell you both what I found out at the same time?”

“…Like I care.” huffed Kanda under his breath as he strode past General Tiedoll, pausing at the door of the inn until Tiedoll had caught up with him before following the general up to their room all the same, in spite of his words.

Once up in the room Tiedoll filled Marie and Kanda in on all that he had learned while Grace sat on the edge of the pallet that had been brought up for her to sleep on the previous night, flipping through one of Tiedoll’s sketchbooks, in between watching the three of them. 

“Though I’m certain that her situation has been far from ideal these past few years” Tiedoll was saying as he rubbed the back of his neck before extending a hand out at his side briefly in a sort of shrug. “…At the very least this will simplify things in terms of bringing her back with us.”

As Marie nodded in agreement with a sober expression, Kanda snorted folding his arms across his chest as he shot Tiedoll a narrow eyed look. “…Does she even have any clue what this shit is about or what she’ll be getting herself into?” 

Tiedoll sighed resting his hands on his knees. “Explaining all of it to her as best we can will be the next task Yu. …Though as long as it seems that she is an accommodator for Innocence, you know as well as I do that her agreement on the matter will make little difference in the outcome.” 

Kanda huffed once more in response before turning away, and Tiedoll shifted in his chair to look over his shoulder at Grace, waiting until she looked up at him before motioning for her to come over to the part of the room where he, Marie, and Kanda sat. As she approached the group Kanda got up from his chair and moved to sit on the edge of his bed instead as if trying to distance himself from the proceedings by physically relocating. 

At Tiedoll’s instruction Grace sat down across from him in the chair that Kanda had abandoned as Tiedoll began explaining to her about the Black Order, its mission, and Innocence. A frown creased Grace’s forehead as she leaned forward in her chair slightly, her gaze focused on Tiedoll’s lips as she focused her attention on trying make out what he was saying. 

As difficult to follow explanations about some sort of long, secret fight and monsters that she had never heard about before drug on, Grace’s mind began to wander, trying to make some sort of sense out of everything so far. A lot of what he was saying didn’t make much sense to her but she was pretty sure that in spite of the difficulty of trying to read Tiedoll’s lips for the entirety of his explanation, she was catching enough that it should have made more sense than it did, unfamiliar and impossible to make out words aside. Letting out a breath in a sigh Grace shifted uncomfortably on the hard wooden seat of her chair, finally looking back over to where Tiedoll and Marie sat. 

When Grace looked back over at him Tiedoll scratched his head, a faint expression of sheepish understanding on his face as he sighed. He had noticed some time ago that Grace’s attention had begun wandering, and after a few minutes had stopped his explanation instead waiting silently until she refocused on him while he thought about how he might convey what he wanted to more clearly. 

“This wasn’t really the best way to explain things, was it?” asked Tiedoll as he rose from his chair. Picking it up Tiedoll moved his chair next to Grace’s before sitting down once more as he took out his sketchbook, turning it to a blank page. As Grace leaned over to watch as he began writing, Tiedoll decided that for now that keeping things simple would be best, enough that Grace would be willing to come with them, with more detail given during the journey back and over time afterward. Especially since a full explanation would be quite lengthy and time consuming and he was still uncertain about where Grace’s level of skill at reading and writing lay considering her past. 

_This was better._ decided Grace as Tiedoll’s elegant handwriting began to fill the page. At least now she was able to understand more, though words that she still didn’t recognize or know the meanings of remained. From what she read Grace learned that Tiedoll, Kanda and Marie were a part of something called the Black Order, and their job was to fight something called Akuma using Innocence. Grace frowned reading what had been written again, as Tiedoll’s pencil came to a stop, the words in some parts of it still didn’t seem to make sense. Reaching out Grace tapped one of the words on the page before looking up at Tiedoll with a confused frown.

“Innocence?” asked Tiedoll, raising an eyebrow as he looked down at Grace for a moment before looking up toward where Kanda sat on the edge of his bed with his arms still folded across his chest, though Tiedoll was able to see that he had at some point begun watching them out of the corner of his eye. “Yu? …Show her Mugen please.” 

Kanda scoffed, his lips twisting briefly before he obeyed and drew Mugen from its sheath activating the Innocence it contained, as Tiedoll brought Grace’s attention to him. A blue glow radiated down Mugen’s blade, following the path of Kanda’s fingers as he drew them along the blade’s surface. Settling both hands on Mugen’s hilt Kanda watched as Tiedoll let the brat’s attention remain on his activated weapon for several moments before the general turned toward Marie. 

“Marie, …Noel Organon now, if you would?” urged Tiedoll as he pointed Grace toward Marie, as the strands of Marie’s Innocence flared to life, falling from the set of rings on the other exorcist’s fingers. Tiedoll pointed to Kanda and Marie in turn once more before tapping the word written in his sketchbook. “That, is Innocence.” Reaching into his pocket Tiedoll withdrew the Innocence they had collected as he continued speaking. “This is Innocence as well.” 

Tiedoll watched as Grace looked back and forth between Kanda, Marie, the Innocence he held, and the sketchbook that lay in his lap. As she did Tiedoll slipped the Innocence into her hand, closing her fingers over it before pressing Grace’s closed hand toward her. “And this Innocence belongs to you.” finished Tiedoll pointing toward Grace with his free hand, once she had refocused on him. 

Grace’s brow knitted as she looked back and forth between Kanda and Marie and their Innocence, until she was distracted by the feeling that pulsed from the crystalline object that Tiedoll had placed in her hand. Letting her gaze fall after Tiedoll had finished speaking to her Grace pulled her attention away from the sensation of the Innocence in her hand looking back to the writing in the sketchbook, her eyes moving over the few sentences there to find another of the words she had not understood. 

Tiedoll looked down as Grace indicated another word from the sketchbook, seeing that her finger rested on the word Akuma, and sighed. Of all the things that the girl could have potentially asked about this one was among the more lengthy and difficult to explain. It was also something that might still provide a clearer answer than he could easily give, on its own, depending on what they encountered along the way in the course of their return journey. 

“A better answer to that may be given in time.” said Tiedoll giving Grace a saddened smile as he directed her attention down to something else that he had written in the sketchbook while her attention had been elsewhere. When Grace looked down she would find that a single sentence now graced the bottom of the page saying, ‘Come with us to the Black Order’.

Frowning at Tiedoll’s lack of an answer Grace looked from the sketchbook to the Innocence in her hand. She felt as if she was beginning to understand at least some things, though she still had many unanswered questions about others. Even so, a question had been posed that required her to make a decision about what she would do going forward from here. At the very least she needed to try to find out something more about the place where she would be going before giving a response.

After waiting for several minutes Tiedoll felt a touch on his wrist and looked back over to where Grace sat, watching as she looked at him with what appeared to be a very serious expression before touching the word Black Order in the sketchbook with a finger, followed by a pantomimed gesture that resembled scooping up food from a plate while eating. A few moments passed as Tiedoll pieced together the meaning of what Grace was trying to say before a quiet laugh escaped Tiedoll as he rested a hand on her head, nodding. “Yes, I’m quite certain that there will be food there for you to eat.” He stated, chuckling once more when the Grace’s face cleared at his reassurance. 

Across the room Kanda snorted derisively as Grace nodded in response, tapping the last line in the sketchbook before hopping off her chair, looking as if she were ready to leave at once. It was just as well, Tiedoll decided, that there appeared to be no more reason for them to delay their departure. After all with a new exorcist and Innocence in tow, it was likely that the sooner they left the city, the better off they would be.

“Very well then.” said Tiedoll as he closed the sketchbook and tucked it away, getting to his feet as he looked toward his apprentices. “Kanda, Marie, gather your things. …We will leave as soon as the preparations for our departure are ready.” 

In short order the group was ready to make their way out of the city, with Grace supplied with a bag of her own in which her Innocence had been securely stowed away along with a blanket, some minimal supplies, and an additional hand-me-down dress and cloak which had been generously donated by the innkeeper’s family. The first part of their journey would take place on foot, as the nearest train station lay in a further away town with quite some distance between it and where they were now. 

At the moment the group had paused just inside the edge of the forest that lined the road to rest for a bit, as Grace was unused to having to walk so far and keep up with the longer strides of the others, and to allow Tiedoll to sketch the landscape. Grace had seated herself next to Marie on a fallen tree trunk and was occupied watching Tiedoll sketch, meanwhile Kanda lurked a short distance away from the rest of them and was looking impatient to continue on. Suddenly Marie sat up straighter, pressing one hand to the headphones he wore. 

“Master, something’s coming!” said Marie with a touch of urgency as he got to his feet, turning in the direction of the sounds he had heard. 

The instant’s warning was all the group had as a pair of Akuma suddenly burst from the trees, opening fire on them the moment they were in sight.

“Things are too close here, let’s move! We need to put some distance between us.” called Tiedoll leaping to his feet, shoving his sketchbook into his bag as he stretched out a hand to catch Grace’s wrist, pulling her off the tree trunk and toward him as he matched his actions to his words. 

Clouds of dust kicked up on either side of the group as they fled toward the road drawing the Akuma out of the trees and into the clearer space of the roadway. As they ran Marie and Kanda fell into place behind Tiedoll and Grace, who was being pulled along by the general’s hold on her wrist as she twisted her head to look back over her shoulder with wide eyes.

At first Grace had been confused when the others began reacting to the presence of their attackers, only recognizing that something was wrong when Tiedoll had abruptly hauled her to her feet and begun dragging her out of the forest behind him. Terror had began to fill her as she had seen the parallel puffs of dirt being thrown up on either side of them, then as she had turned to look back her blood had run cold at the sight of the strange creatures pursuing them. Moments later a burning burst of pain flared in her knees as she tripped on the uneven ground of the packed dirt roadway and fell, causing Tiedoll to lose his grip on her hand. 

Quickly General Tiedoll turned back, scooping Grace up with an arm looped around her waist to carry her tucked under his arm as he moved them toward cover, while Marie moved to guard them from behind.

“They must be leftovers from the group we fought the other day.” said Kanda as he came to a stop in the middle of the road, drawing Mugen from its sheath and activating it as he turned to confront the Akuma, seeming unconcerned about the hail of Akuma bullets that rained down around him. 

Kanda rushed forward swinging Mugen in a wide arc as Tiedoll dropped Grace down behind the safety of a cluster of large boulders that were near the edge of the road before crouching close behind her. Once Tiedoll and Grace had reached cover, Marie joined Kanda as the first Akuma he had attacked exploded, and between the two of them they made relatively short work of the remaining one. A few minutes later after the lingering echoes of the explosion had died Tiedoll came out from behind the rocks, bringing Grace along with him by the hand he kept on her shoulder. As they emerged Grace’s head turned back and forth, looking nervously at the trees that surrounded them. Finally Grace looked over at Tiedoll with a frown, though the majority of her attention was clearly on their surroundings, she motioned with one hand toward where the Akuma had last been, an obvious question in her expression. 

“Those,… were Akuma.” explained Tiedoll his normally jovial expression sobering to a faint frown. 

A few moments passed as Grace worked out what Tiedoll had said, and pieced it together with what she had been told and had seen so far. She looked back and forth once between General Tiedoll where the defeated Akuma had been, as her frown gradually gave way to a look of disbelief and a slight loss of color, a tinge of fear appearing in her eyes. 

A short distance down the road ahead of them, Kanda snorted as he looked back over his shoulder, watching. _…It looks like the brat is finally realizing what she’s gotten herself into. …All for food and a place to sleep._ thought Kanda, an unreadable expression twisting his lips as he turned and started off down the road.

Darkness had fallen by the time the group stopped later that day to make camp for the night, intending to reach the nearest village in time to catch their train the next morning. After choosing a place for their campsite Tiedoll, Kanda, and Marie worked on clearing the site and starting a fire, with Grace lingering close to either Marie or Tiedoll in alternating shifts during the task. Afterward they all ate a simple meal prepared by Tiedoll, during which Kanda watched Grace through narrowed eyes where she sat between Tiedoll and Marie as he picked at his food, before settling into their blankets to sleep. Hours passed in silence allowing the fire to die down to glowing coals before irate shouting disturbed the quiet, rousing anyone who wasn’t already awake.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” shouted Kanda, the angry cry followed by a thump and a sharp exhale. “Get off me!” 

“Kanda?” questioned Marie, pushing back his blanket as he sat up slightly, propping himself on one elbow. 

Rolling onto his side Tiedoll reached out to where his glasses lay atop his bag beside him, settling them on his face before looking toward Kanda. “What’s wrong Yu?” 

Kanda shot a momentary glare toward where Grace was picking herself up off the ground beside him before looking back at Tiedoll and replying. “I just got to sleep! And then this brat comes over and tries to huddle up next to me.” snarled Kanda, huffing as he folded his arms across his chest. 

“I see.” sighed Tiedoll, shaking his head as he watched Grace edge away from Kanda to retreat to the safety of Marie’s side. “Let it go Yu,… and try to go back to sleep. We’ll have to be ready to leave just after dawn.” 

Meanwhile Marie looked toward Grace, tilting his head back slightly so that the moonlight would fall on his face as he rested a hand on her head. “What happened? Did you have a nightmare? …A bad dream?” asked Marie, his brow knitting sympathetically as he waited a moment before feeling Grace nod in response. 

Giving Grace a smile Marie lifted the edge of his blanket spreading it away from his side. “…Would you feel better sleeping here the rest of the night?” 

As Grace nodded once more and moved to curl up at Marie’s side, the others also settled back down for the few hours of sleep that remained as Marie turned on his side scooting back to make room for Grace under his blanket. Once she had laid down, he tucked its edge in around her before settling back to sleep once more.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day the group set out early, managing to catch their train, and despite eventually having to ensure that Kanda and Grace sat separately in order keep the peace, they arrived at the order without further incident. 

As they neared the headquarters of the Black Order Tiedoll brought the group to a stop a short distance away, to allow Grace a few minutes to take in the towering height of the cliff it was set on and the imposing appearance created by the darkened and weathered stone of the building itself, as he called in to inform Komui of their arrival. After several minutes had passed Tiedoll turned away, leading them all to the Order’s underground entrance instead. When they reached the edge of the waterway Tiedoll called out to the waiting Finder, waving an arm in greeting, as they approached the boat he was standing in. 

A few moments later the boat drifted to a stop at the dock, swaying gently against it as Tiedoll paused to exchange pleasantries with the Finder before boarding. Kanda scoffed, striding past them to leap into the boat, landing so lightly that it barely rocked under the sudden motion. Marie followed him a few moments later, moving to take a seat at the front of the boat, shifting to hold it steady, while Tiedoll held Grace’s hand to help her aboard before stepping into the vessel himself.

Leaning her arms on the side of the boat, Grace’s head turned from one side to the other repeatedly as she looked around wide-eyed at the high-arched ceiling and pillar lined stone walls that surrounded them as the boat first began to move down the channel, before finally resting her chin on her folded arms. She wasn’t sure exactly what she had expected to find when she arrived at the Black Order, but whatever that might have been, so far both the building and this underground passageway were unlike anything she had ever seen. As she continued thinking Grace leaned over the edge of the boat, stretching out one hand to trail her fingers in the chilly water as it flowed past. Even the boat ride itself was a new and interesting experience. 

_...But…_ thought Grace as she withdrew her hand from the water, tucking her arms back against herself as a frown knitted her brow. As nice as the men calling themselves Tiedoll and Marie had been, and as good as the idea of having a warm place to stay and food to eat sounded,… not everything that had happened so far had been good. _…There had been that monster…_  
Grace was unable to suppress the shudder that ran through her at the memory of the utter terror that had filled her as she was pulled along by Tiedoll’s grip on her arm, only to multiply in depth when she had tripped and fallen. Then to come to understand only after that experience, that those were the sort of things she was expected to somehow be able to fight. And she still had no idea of what other hidden situations or dangers might be ahead of her once they reached their destination.  


Worry and doubt over the unknown situation ahead only deepened Grace’s frown until a hand touching her shoulder pulled her from her thoughts with a slight jerk of surprise. She looked up as the hand withdrew to see General Tiedoll looking down at her, his brows drawn together in a slight frown in spite of the smile he wore. 

“We’ve arrived.” said Tiedoll as he extended his hand again, this time to help Grace out of the boat. “…Is everything all right?” 

Grace hesitated, lowering her gaze to look away for a moment, before reaching up to take Tiedoll’s hand allowing him to pull her from the boat. As she stepped onto the dock, Tiedoll directed Grace’s attention toward a tall man dressed in white, who leaned down with a wide, enthusiastically friendly smile as he peered over the tops of his glasses at her. 

“…Ah, this must be the Accommodator you mentioned finding.” said the man, twisting his head briefly to glance up at Tiedoll before returning his attention to Grace as he continued. “I’m Komui Lee. …It’s a pleasure to meet you.” he added as he extended one of his hands, still smiling.

Instinctively Grace stepped back as Komui loomed over her, moving a bit closer to Tiedoll as she looked hesitantly up at him, before receiving a reassuring nod. Looking back at Komui with a wary expression Grace slowly placed her hand in Komui’s allowing him to shake it briefly before letting go. 

“Well then,…” said Komui as he straightened, meeting Tiedoll’s eyes for a moment before shifting his attention to include Kanda and Marie as well. “Shall we head upstairs now?” As he spoke Komui turned to gesture to the flight of stairs that lead to the doors of the elevator that ran to the upper levels of the European Branch’s headquarters. 

Following Komui’s suggestion the group made their way up the stairs and boarded the elevator, for a ride which was silent, apart from the discussion taking place between Komui and Tiedoll. When they reached the main floor Marie was the first off the lift exchanging a few parting words with Tiedoll and Komui before turning and making his way down the hall. Kanda would have done the same had Tiedoll not caught his shoulder, stopping Kanda before he had gotten more than a couple steps away. 

“Not so fast Yu.” said Tiedoll as Kanda twisted against the grip on his shoulder to face Tiedoll, scowling. “Why don’t you come with us?” 

“What?! Why?” snapped Kanda frowning as he pulled free from Tiedoll’s grip, taking a half step back as if intending to leave despite Tiedoll’s request.

Tiedoll tilted his head slightly giving Kanda an uncompromising look, for once not giving in to Kanda’s tempestuous mood as he simply repeated his instruction for Kanda to accompany he, Komui, and Grace before starting down the hall in the opposite direction Marie had gone, clearly expecting Kanda to follow him. 

Komui stood for a few moments as Tiedoll moved away, watching as Kanda hesitated, his jaw visibly working as he ground his teeth before following in Tiedoll’s wake. Looking down at Grace, who had also stood watching the interaction between the General and Kanda, Komui offered her a slight smile motioning for her to precede him down the hall. 

Sometime later Tiedoll and Kanda sat waiting outside one of the examination rooms in the order’s medical section, which Komui had entered a short time ago to consult with the head nurse after the physical examination that he had ordered was finished. Finally emerging from his snit Kanda subtly looked over at the General out of the corner of his eye, studying him for several minutes before attracting Tiedoll’s attention. As Tiedoll looked over at Kanda raising an eyebrow, Kanda looked away huffing as he tightened his folded arms. 

“…Just what are you up to? Making me stick around for this…” asked Kanda narrowing his eyes as he twisted his head back around after a moment to look at Tiedoll once more. 

Tiedoll sighed his brow knitting briefly as he pursed his lips together for a moment before speaking. “Surely you heard Chief Komui say earlier that Marie and I have been assigned to rendezvous with Daisya and accompany him on his next assignment?” said Tiedoll pausing to look over at Kanda, receiving a curt nod and growing scowl in response before continuing. “…Meanwhile you are to remain here for the time being, Yu.”

The annoyance in Kanda’s expression clearly indicated his opinion on that particular decision as his lips twisted before speaking. “So what about it?” grunted Kanda, the edge of a growl just barely keeping out of his tone.

“During that time, you are going to be one of the few people that Grace knows here at the Order.” began Tiedoll holding up a hand to stop Kanda, who started to protest at the idea of being made a babysitter, as he continued. “I would appreciate it if you would at least consider attempting to be friendlier toward her Yu…”

Kanda scoffed, but before he could say anything he was interrupted by Komui’s return accompanied by Grace. Tiedoll turned toward the pair, giving Grace a slight smile before focusing his attention fully on Komui as the other man came to a stop in front of he and Kanda. 

“It seems she’s surprisingly healthy, considering what you were able to find out about her background and living conditions until now.” began Komui glancing down to flip through the papers in his hand as he spoke. “As you suspected, she does have a rather profound hearing loss, though it may be possible to alleviate it with some sort of hearing aid. …The science section will have to look into the possibilities…” murmured Komui his voice dropping in volume slightly over the last sentence, as if already beginning to muse over potential concepts, before he shook himself looking up at Tiedoll and Kanda. “Also she appears to have suffered damage to her vocal cords, whether as a result of the fever you mentioned General, or something else we aren’t certain. …But apart from that, there’s little else that having regular nutrition won’t correct with time.” 

“I see.” replied Tiedoll nodding at Komui before sparing a momentary glance at Grace who had moved to stand beside him while Komui was giving his report, and was wearing a slight frown as she looked up at the taller man, trying to follow what he was saying.

“…Also given that, the science section’s current workload, and the communication difficulties we’re likely to have it may take longer than usual to modify her Innocence,… but I don’t see any reason we can’t go ahead and bring her to Hevlaska now.” finished Komui, lowering the hand holding the report he had been looking at to his side as he shrugged. “If only to validate that she truly is an Accommodator.”

With Tiedoll voicing his agreement, he, Komui, and Grace made their way to the lift that would take them down to the part of headquarters where Hevlaska resided, with Kanda grumbling under his breath as he trailed after them. As the lift drifted downward Grace moved to peer over the railing that lined the sides, watching their descent. 

At first when Grace had been escorted away from Tiedoll and Kanda for her examination by Komui, she had been nervous at what would happen now that she had been separated by this near total stranger. However during the examination both the doctor and the Head Nurse had been kind, and while Komui talked far too quickly for her to be able to understand anything he was saying, he smiled often and seemed friendly. At the very least she didn’t think he had any intentions toward harm, and as she increasingly placed herself in the hands of the members of this mysterious group of people, Grace found her guard was beginning to lower. 

The lift jolted as it came to a stop and Grace lifted her head to look around her, noticing that the others had all gathered toward one side of the lift’s platform and seemed to be waiting for something. Moving to join them Grace looked curiously up at Tiedoll who gave her a brief smile, then reached into his pocket to pull out her Innocence, placing it in her hands before nudging her forward into the open space between where he and the others stood and the platform’s railing. A few moments passed as the Innocence flared and tingled in her palms before she half turned to look back over her shoulder at Tiedoll frowning uncertainly only for him to incline his head in a nod, indicating with a gesture for her to face forward once more. As he did a flash of white caught the edge of Grace’s vision and she turned back to see a huge white form looming above her. 

Grace’s mouth fell open and her eyes widened, as lips that stretched far too large to be read on a face that was impossibly huge and white leaned forward, seeming to be focused on her in spite of the lack of visible eyes. As she flicked a panicked glance backward, Grace felt a large hand come to rest on her shoulder as Tiedoll stepped forward to stand close behind her.

“It’s all right child.” murmured Tiedoll looking down at Grace for a moment as he spoke, before turning his attention toward Hevlaska once more. 

Beside Grace Komui had stepped forward as well, looking up to Hevlaska as he addressed her. “Hevlaska, we’ve brought you someone believed to be an Accommodator for Innocence. …Please examine her and confirm that she is an apostle of god.” 

Hevlaska lowered her head in a nod directed at Komui, then shifted her unseen gaze toward Grace, the ghostly white tendrils that made up her hands stretching forward as she spoke. “Come… show me the potential of your ability to wield the Innocence.” 

For a few moments Grace stood transfixed as the low vibration of Hevlaska’s voice throbbed in her chest, then as Hevlaska’s snake-like limbs began to move toward her, she hurriedly backed out from under the hand Tiedoll had rested on her shoulder to bump into Kanda’s legs. Scoffing in annoyance as Grace stumbled into him Kanda shoved her with his knee, the force of it sending Grace staggering forward once more and into the reach of Hevlaska’s grasp. Grace struggled briefly as Hevlaska’s tentacles encircled her tightly to still her movements before lifting her from the ground.

Grace’s Innocence had begun to glow more brightly at the contact with Hevlaska, emanating pulses of light, as Hevlaska raised both it and Grace up to her forehead humming in concentration. Hevlaska held them both suspended for several long moments before drawing back slightly, her voice emanating in a low, clear rumble as she pronounced her verdict. “…This child is truly an Accommodator for Innocence.” murmured Hevlaska as she lowered Grace gently to the floor before withdrawing her tendrils.

As Hevlaska released her Grace slumped to the floor, to sit shaking subtly as she looked up at Hevlaska and around at Komui, Tiedoll, and Kanda trying to find some explanation for what had happened and what was being said. After a few moments passed Komui came to drop to one knee in front of her, smiling as he offered his hand to help Grace to her feet. “I’m sorry if you were frightened by all of that. But now let me officially say,… Welcome to the Black Order.”

Seeming to feel that things were decided from there after a brief discussion with Tiedoll, Komui whisked Grace away to Science Section, resulting in Kanda finally being set free as Tiedoll agreed that he had been present for long enough and allowed him to leave. 

The noise and chaos of the Science division enveloped Grace and Komui as soon as they entered the expansive room. As she followed Komui deeper into the bustling space, Grace’s head turned back and forth, watching the feverish level of activity as people hurried from place to place around the room occasionally calling out or shouting to one another. After glancing back over his shoulder for a moment to make sure that Grace was still following Komui headed toward a tall blond man who was near the epicenter of the chaos, calling out as he approached. 

“Hey Reever, do you have a minute?” asked Komi as he came to a stop near the desk piled high with books, papers, and odd bits of equipment that Reever was seated at. 

The blond man sighed in reply, without looking up from the sheaf of papers he was studying while scribbling notes on a separate sheet of paper, as he continued. “…Chief… if you haven’t noticed we’re kind of swamped here, even without you slipping off somewhere. …And by the way there’s a stack of reports on your desk that need to be signed, so could you please do something about them?” 

Komui pouted for a moment at the mention of his workload, but brightened again immediately as he leaned forward. “Ah, but section leader,… aren’t you even interested in seeing the Innocence that General Tiedoll found and brought back? …I’ve even brought along the accommodator he found for the Innocence as well.” 

It seemed to take a few moments before Komui’s words registered, causing Reever’s pen to come to an abrupt stop as he looked up from his work, staring at Komui briefly then looking around for a moment before his gaze dropped down to settle on Grace. A faint frown crossed Reever’s face as Grace’s apparent age and appearance registered, he looked back at Komui his brows drawing together in an unspoken question, to which he received a nod of certainty in response. Looking toward the floor at his feet Reever’s lips thinned as he pressed them together for a moment before putting on a friendly smile as he pushed his chair back from his desk, dropping down on one knee in order to be on Grace’s level after he had stepped toward her. 

“Hi, I’m Reever. …What’s your name?” asked Reever as he extended a hand to shake Grace’s, pushing his glasses up onto his head and out of the way with the other, as he spoke. 

After a brief pause, Grace hesitated then placed her hand in Reever’s allowing him to shake it, before she glanced away to look up at Komui who finally interjected as a trace of confusion began to creep across Reever’s expression at Grace’s lack of verbal response. “Her name is Grace…” said Komui before continuing on to further explain. “I’m afraid she’s not able reply verbally or hear you, however Hevlaska has confirmed that she is indeed an accommodator so we’ll need to begin modifying her Innocence for use when we are able.” 

“…I see…” murmured Reever his gaze moving from Komui to Grace and back again before he stood turning his attention more fully toward Komui. “So you said that you brought her Innocence with you too?” 

“I have it right here.” said Komui as he nodded, withdrawing the Innocence from where he had had it to show to Reever. As the other man moved closer to begin inspecting the Innocence Komui continued. “I had thought that perhaps you could assign someone to work with her one on one during the modification process, …in addition to their regular duties, of course. It may take a bit longer, but it could make things easier in some ways.” finished Komui glancing toward Grace for a moment before giving Reever a significant look.

Looking up from his study of the Innocence Reever also cast a glance toward Grace before meeting Komui’s eyes as he nodded in agreement. “You might have a point Chief...” said Reever before turning away to shout toward a distant corner of the room. “Hey Johnny! …Come over here.” 

In response to Reever’s call Grace watched as a pile of books abruptly collapsed, accompanied by a startled cry. A few moments later a brown haired man with thick round lensed glasses who was only a foot or so taller than Grace herself emerged from the pile, making his way over to the group. Unlike Reever or Komui he was clothed much more casually, which was only emphasized by the way his glasses sat askew after digging himself out of the fallen books and the slight exhaustion in the way he carried himself.

“…What is it Section Leader?” asked Johnny, adjusting his glasses as he came to a stop where the group was. 

“…Sorry Johnny, I know you’ve got a lot of work already...” began Reever offering a sympathetic smile as he took in the other man’s slightly haggard appearance. “But I’ve got another job for you to do now too.” 

Making a questioning sound Johnny glanced toward Grace for a moment before looking back to Reever and Komui. A short time later, once explanations had been given and introductions made, the three men soon became focused on their own discussion. With the adults occupied Grace was left to her own devices, and after looking around settled on a pile of books nearby to wait. Her mind quickly started to wander as the adult’s discussion carried on, so Grace wasn’t sure just how much time had passed before she felt a hand touch her shoulder. Grace looked up with a start, to see that Johnny had stepped away from the conversation that was still going on between Reever and Komui over her Innocence, and had seated himself on another pile of books beside her. 

“I guess we kind of forgot about you for a little while there. I’m sorry. …I bet you’re tired of sitting here waiting.” said Johnny after a moment, giving Grace a somewhat awkward smile. “You’re probably hungry by now too, if it’s been a while since you’d eaten. …If you wanted I could show you down to the cafeteria for some food.” Johnny added before motioning toward where Komui and Reever stood. “It’s most likely going to be a long time before we’re done working here.” 

Grace’s eyes moved from Johnny to follow his gesture toward Komui and Reever before returning to his face once more, her brow knitting slightly as her gaze flicked over his form. Finally she nodded, having pieced together the gist of what Johnny had said and contemplated his offer.

Once Grace had nodded in agreement with his suggestion, Johnny hopped up from the stack of books he had been sitting on, looking over to call out to Chief Komui and Reever. 

“Hey Reever, Chief Komui, we’re going to go to the cafeteria and get something to eat.” called Johnny waving a hand slightly to get the attention of the other two men. 

Reever glanced up briefly from his discussion to nod absently in response to Johnny’s call. “All right Johnny, that sounds fine. Don’t take too long though, we’ve still got a lot to do here.” 

As Johnny nodded, opening his mouth to reply Komui’s gaze flicked toward the blond man for a moment before he quickly stepped forward putting on a broad smile as he began to hustle Johnny and Grace toward the door. “That sounds like a great idea! As a matter of fact I’ll come with you.” 

His eyes widening for a moment Reever put out a hand to try to catch Komui’s arm. “Hey Chief, not you! …You’ve got too much work piled up to keep running off to do who knows what.” protested Reever as his expression changed to a frustrated glare as Komui slipped out of his reach. He sighed as Komui disappeared through the door moments later, with Johnny and Grace in tow. 

Looking toward the Innocence which had been left behind on his desk, Reever shook his head at Komui’s continual fleeing of his work, while he and the others meanwhile had plenty of work of their own. At least having a new Innocence to study might prove interesting and useful toward the Science Section’s ongoing research on the subject. Plopping down in his chair before scooting closer to his desk Reever started to reach out to pick up the Innocence. He supposed it wouldn’t take up too much of his time to look the Innocence over and make a few notes of his preliminary observations, just to get Johnny started when he came back.

Once in the cafeteria Johnny sent Grace to sit at a nearby table while he went to the serving window set in one wall to order their meals. By the time that Johnny returned a short time later with food for himself and Grace, Komui had slipped away into the kitchen to have a talk with Jerry. Carefully balancing two trays as he made his way over to the table Johnny placed one of them in front of Grace before sitting down beside her to begin eating. 

At first Grace had dug into her meal with a degree of eagerness, but her stomach began to fill, her eating slowed to mostly picking at the remaining portion of the food as she started to nod off right at the table. The day had been overwhelming in nearly every respect, and by now between the moments of fear and uncertainty that had peppered the day and the strain of the concentration necessary to try to read everyone’s lips, Grace was exhausted and it was getting more and more difficult to keep her eyes open. 

Grace continued to nod over her meal and had nearly fallen asleep two sets of legs appeared in the corner of her vision. Rousing herself Grace sat up straighter, looking over at the just arrived pair. Komui had returned with a dark skinned man who leaned forward enthusiastically to coo over her for a moment before turning back toward Komui. 

“Look at what a little cutie pie we have here!” Jerry cooed as he propped his chin on his hand as he leaned closer to rest his elbows on the edge of the table near Grace, before looking back at Komui. “…She’s even more adorable than you made her sound.” 

As Grace drew back slightly from the intensity of enthusiasm that Jerry exuded, Komui cleared his throat a smile flitting across his face momentarily before he sobered a bit. “…As I mentioned before, it will be some time before she’s likely to be ready to be sent out on any missions. So it doesn’t make sense to assign her to any of the generals yet, however in the meantime someone will be needed to look after her...” 

“With a little thing like her, how much trouble could she be?” said Jerry turning his smile briefly toward Grace as he continued addressing Komui. “It looks like what she needs most is some good food in her and a little TLC.” 

“So you’d be willing-…” began Komui before breaking off as Jerry nodded, voicing an assurance that it would be no trouble at all. “…Well then, it seems like everything is settled.” 

“Uh-huh.” hummed Jerry nodding in agreement before looking down at Grace once more, taking in the way her eyes drooped tiredly in spite of her effort at staying awake. “I think the first thing that needs to be done is getting this little darling into bed.” Putting a hand on Grace’s shoulder to get her attention before reaching down to take her arm and help her to her feet, Jerry turned to look over his shoulder toward the kitchen calling out to the staff there to inform them that he would be right back and to keep things running in the meantime.

As Jerry started to lead Grace out of the dining hall Komui remained standing by the table for a moment, looking as if visions of the stacks of paperwork piled on his desk were appearing in his mind, before suddenly starting after Jerry and Grace. “Why don’t I come along, and help pick out a room for her?” called Komui in an overly cheerful tone, before he was stopped by a hand catching his sleeve, stopping him.

“Uh, Chief Komui-…” began Johnny before a voice calling out from another part of the dining hall stopped him. 

“There you are Chief!” exclaimed Reever, coming to a stop in one of the open doorways of the dining hall as Komui started to make a break for escape. “Grab him Johnny! Don’t let him get away.” 

As Johnny and Reever began attempting to capture and drag Komui back to work, Jerry watched the growing chaos for a moment before shaking his head with a sigh, starting to steer Grace toward one of the hall’s other sets of doors once more. “…Come on honey, let’s find somewhere for you to sleep.” 

After leaving the dining hall Grace ended up being placed in a room that was only a short distance down the hall from Jerry’s own. In spite of being somewhat small, though there was still plenty of room for a bed with a night stand, and a small table with a chair. It was also very plain, though Jerry had been intent on assuring Grace that they could see about doing something to brighten it up in the following days, before he had left. After he was gone Grace barely managed to take off her shoes and climb into the bed before drifting to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Over the days of the weeks that followed her arrival at the Black Order’s European Branch, Grace’s life gradually began to settle into a routine. 

General Tiedoll and Marie had left early the morning of the first day on their mission to rendezvous with Daisya, and since then Grace had seen little of Kanda, in spite of Tiedoll’s contrary instructions to him. Instead the majority of Grace’s time was spent in the science section with Johnny, either watching as he worked on studying her Innocence or involved in lessons with him to catch her up on what education she was lacking. These lessons were occasionally assisted by Lenalee, who had since returned from the mission she had been out on during Grace’s arrival. She had first met the other girl when Lenalee had come to the kitchen in search of coffee for the members of the science section, and had later learned that she was Komui’s younger sister. Grace had been surprised at first by the knowledge, to her Lenalee seemed very different from her brother. While both seemed kind and friendly, Lenalee came across as far calmer in comparison to the antics that Grace had already witnessed from her somewhat high-strung and overdramatic brother. In spite of Komui supposedly being the older of the two.

The remainder of her time was usually spent sitting in a corner of the kitchen where space had been cleared for her to work on her studies, and watching while Jerry ran things in the kitchen. Though, toward the end of the first week Jerry had also begun to allow Grace to do simple tasks, such as stirring things or peeling vegetables when things got especially busy. And as he had assured her, Jerry had also found a catalogue of fabrics and other items for Grace to choose from, for use in decorating her room. Additionally a few dresses had been picked out as well, to add to the couple of dresses she had already, which had been gotten for her by Tiedoll from the innkeeper’s wife. To Grace the dresses that had been chosen seemed too fluffy and frilly to be worth wearing for anything, even if the fluffiness might have been able to make good hiding places for small objects from pickpocketing. Though she had once or twice seen other girls who passed by her on the streets in the nicer parts of the city wearing such things. However Jerry, Lenalee, Komui and the handful of other people who had seen the dresses had seemed to be pleased by them, so she had eventually shrugged and agreed to the selection. 

Most of Grace’s conversations with everyone else at the order consisted largely of pointing and gesturing until she and whoever was talking with her were able to make themselves understood but as her skill at reading and writing began to show signs of improvement with practice, the leather journal that Johnny had given Grace for use in her studies and whatever else she deemed fit, began to be put to use as well. She had begun carrying it and a pencil around with her in a brown canvas bag, which Jerry had managed to find somewhere. It made communication a little easier, so she made sure to keep it close, even when being sent off to do simple tasks like the one she was on now.

Kanda knelt beside one of the flower beds in the small garden that was tucked in a corner of the Order’s grounds, his fingers working through the soil at the base of one of the plants to free it from the weeds that had grown up around it since the last time he had been there. The garden seemed to be one of the few places in the order that people rarely visited, along with the meditation room, at least when Kanda was there. 

He wasn’t sure he liked the idea of other people invading a space that a part of Kanda unconsciously considered to be his, but the idea of doing something to stake a claim over the place which might reveal him as the garden’s caretaker and draw attention to himself was even more unwanted. Kanda guessed he didn’t mind that much, as long as no one bothered him, or did anything to damage or mess up the garden and its plants. Frowning at his thoughts Kanda pulled free another weed, tossing it into the pile with the others before freezing, his muscles tensing as he suddenly picked up on the presence of someone else in the garden with him. His frown deepening into a scowl Kanda spun around to confront the intruder, huffing in annoyance as he caught sight of who it was. 

At the far side of the garden from where Kanda was, stood Grace with a partially filled basket of herbs and fresh vegetables hanging from her arm as she stared transfixed in Kanda’s direction. Turning back around with another glare Kanda set about doing his best to ignore the lurking brat, hoping that if he pretended she wasn’t there, she would eventually get bored with whatever she was staring at and go away. Several minutes passed as Kanda continued pulling weeds, now using a bit more force than what he had been and than what was probably necessary as he felt his skin beginning to prickle with annoyance, before he glanced back over his shoulder to see that the girl was still standing there and had actually moved closer to where he was. 

By this time Grace was standing almost beside where Kanda knelt, though she seemed oblivious to his presence as she reached out to touch the petals of a blossom on one of the rose bushes that were in this section of the garden, tracing her fingers lightly along its edge. 

Kanda’s eyes narrowed as he watched the girl run her fingers over the rose’s petals, his lips twisting. 

_…The way the brat acts you’d think she’d never seen flowers like this up close before._ thought Kanda, before recalling Marie and General Tiedoll’s descriptions of the slum where they had found Grace, and how gray, lifeless and virtually abandoned it had been. 

On second thought he supposed that may actually have been the case, which would probably mean that the kid would end up standing there for a lot longer unless he did something about it. In most cases yelling at the person in question to get out would get the job done, and might still work here, except Kanda wasn’t sure if she would be able to hear him or if he would just be wasting his breath. From the way General Tiedoll had talked he had thought that the pipsqueak couldn’t hear anything at all, but Komui had made it sound as if that might not be the case, either way Kanda wasn’t sure just how much she couldn’t hear him. There was also the lecture that Tiedoll had given him before leaving to consider, he had already had to suffer through it once, and didn’t really want to have to go through a repeat. 

Kanda snorted, his gaze flicking toward Grace for a moment before looking away once more. Even if she couldn’t tell what he was saying, it wouldn’t be hard for her to figure out that he was shouting at her. He wouldn’t put it past the brat to tattle on him to Marie, and for it to get back to Tiedoll as well. 

The sensation of something bumping against her leg startled Grace out of her wondering contemplation of the roses. She looked down to see Kanda offering her a pair of small gardening shears, his gaze purposely diverted away, though Kanda did keep his face turned toward her, as he spoke with an annoyed curl to his lip. 

“Annoying pipsqueak. …Are just you going to keep standing there staring, or will you get out of my face already?” muttered Kanda, refusing to look at Grace as he held up the shears. He hoped that letting her have one of the rose’s blooms to take with her would be enough to make her go, leaving him to continue tending to the garden in peace. 

Grace’s brow knitted in confusion and she stood staring at Kanda for a few moments before taking the shears from him. Slipping the basket she was carrying from her arm Grace set it carefully in the grass at her feet before turning to clip a blossom from the rose bush. 

“Hey, …Those’ve still got thorns, if you don’t watch what you’re doing you’re going to-…” began Kanda looking back after Grace had taken the shears from him, just in time to watch her jerk her hand back with a soft huff, the shears falling to the ground at her feet as she clutched the fingers of one hand with the other. 

“Tch.” Clicking his tongue in annoyance Kanda watched as Grace shifted from holding her finger, to sucking at the one she had pricked on the roses’ thorns, before he moved to pick up the fallen shears. “I told you to pay attention to what you were doing…” muttered Kanda under his breath, turning to begin clipping a few of the large pink blooms from the bush himself as Grace watched while continuing to suck on her injured finger. 

After a few minutes Kanda shoved a few pink roses in Grace’s direction, the thorns already trimmed from their stems. “Here. Make yourself useful and hold these.” said Kanda sharply before turning away once more to clip a small handful’s worth of lily of the valley from the edge of the flowerbed. A few moments later he snatched the blossoms back, mingling them with the sprigs of small white flowers, before holding them out to Grace once more. 

Grace’s eyes widened as she looked from Kanda, to the bouquet and back. Focusing on Kanda, Grace pressed one hand to her chest, putting on a questioning expression as she indicated the bouquet with a glance. 

“Do you want them or not?” huffed Kanda, thrusting the bouquet toward Grace a second time. “If it’ll get you to leave me alone, then just take them already.” He added before looking away once more. 

Grace smiled broadly in response, nodding. Taking the flowers from Kanda, she enthusiastically bowed several times before picking up her basket of vegetables and turning to hurry back inside. Kanda watched for a few moments as Grace disappeared from sight into the building, then snorted shaking his head before turning back to resume his work on the garden.

In the kitchen Grace set her basket down on one of the prep tables before weaving her way through the bustle of people moving back and forth, busily working to prepare meals for each member of the Order, to where Jerry was. Jerry stood before a large stove on which several large kettles boiled and bubbled, shifting between stirring them and calling out orders and instructions to the members of the kitchen staff who were darting back and forth behind him. On one of these occasions Jerry caught sight of Grace out of the corner of his eye, and nudged the heat of the stove’s burners down a bit before turning to face her. 

“There you are.” said Jerry, crouching down a bit closer to Grace’s eye level as he propped a hand on his hip. “Did you get all of the vegetables I’d sent you for?” 

Grace nodded, turning to point toward the table where she had left the basket, before holding up the bouquet of flowers Kanda had given her. 

“Ooh, did you get those from the garden?” asked Jerry, raising an eyebrow in surprise. 

Naturally, Jerry knew where the flowers must have come from the Order only had a single garden, after all. However he also was also aware that there was an unspoken rule that the flowers in the garden and its upkeep fell under Kanda’s purview, and few in the order had both the interest and the courage to challenge that claim. He was also familiar Kanda’s personality, so the idea of him giving Grace a bouquet of flowers from the garden was unexpected, especially given that so far Kanda had shown little interest in having anything to do with her. 

After nodding once more in response Grace pantomimed the shape of a container, followed by a motion as if she were putting the flowers inside it, before looking up at Jerry with a questioning expression. 

Deciding to let any other questions he might have had drop Jerry straightened, putting on a smile while resting an extended index finger along his jaw as if in thought. “Hmm,… You know, I think I might have just the thing for you.” Calling for one of his assistants to take over at the stove, Jerry motioned for Grace to come with him, still smiling. 

Jerry wove his way through the kitchen while Grace trailed after him, making his way over to where all of the dishes, that were used by the Order were washed. After sorting through them for a few minutes Jerry picked up a jar which, while having been cleaned after its contents had been emptied, had also become chipped and picked up a small crack near the neck. Turning back to Grace, Jerry held up the jar. 

“… I think this will work for you. Just let me put some water in it first.” said Jerry turning to the nearby sink to fill the glass container before holding the jar down low enough so that Grace could put her bouquet into it. 

After putting her flowers inside, Grace took the jar from Jerry, nodding her thanks as she wrapped one arm around the water-filled container to hold it steady while supporting its weight with her other hand. 

“Now you be sure to be careful with that. Especially around the part where it’s broken, you don’t want to cut yourself.” said Jerry patting Grace’s head and chuckling a bit as she nodded in agreement, before he made a slight shooing motion with his hand. “…Go ahead and put them in your room somewhere, then come back here.”

 

The following day Kanda was once again working in the garden, after having spent the morning training, when he became aware of someone approaching from the side before crouching down near him. Looking over Kanda’s brows drew together in a frown as he saw that Grace was on her knees beside him, looking intently at the weeds he had been pulling from the flowerbed. 

Huffing in annoyance Kanda tossed one of the weeds in his hand toward Grace, drawing her attention. “Hey! …What do you think you’re doing back here again?”

Grace looked up at Kanda with a startled expression. For a moment it seemed as if she were struggling for words, before pointing toward the small pile of weeds that Kanda had pulled, mimicking the gesture of pulling one from the soil herself before pressing an open palm to her chest, looking at Kanda with a questioning expression.

“…Huh?...” muttered Kanda his brows drawing together in a frown, taking a few minutes to piece together what Grace was trying to say. Kanda’s nose wrinkled in distaste as he figured out what Grace had been asking in time to swat her hand away when she started to reach toward a bit of greenery, in a further demonstration of her question. 

As Grace jerked back to look at him wide eyed, Kanda growled under his breath. He looked away for a moment, before closing his eyes as he let out his breath in a forceful sigh. “Fine.” muttered Kanda reopening his eyes as he turned back toward Grace, pointing toward a far corner of the garden as he continued. “But over there,… out of the way.” 

_Maybe if the pipsqueak was far enough away from him, he would be able to ignore that she was there after a while._ thought Kanda, his frown deepening as he lowered his hand after a moment. _…Maybe even forget that she was there entirely if he was lucky for once._

Kanda’s gaze snapped up as Grace nodded and stood, starting to head toward the part of the garden Kanda had pointed toward. 

“Hey, wait a minute.” said Kanda, reaching out to catch Grace’s arm and jerk her back a step. Letting go as Grace looked over at him in surprise Kanda picked up a few of the weeds he had already pulled, holding them up for inspection. “Only pull out the ones that look like these. …And if you don’t know what something is and it’s not one of these then leave it alone. …Got it?” 

Kanda eyed Grace as she studied the plants he was holding up for several minutes before nodding. After Kanda nodded in response Grace lingered for a moment as if waiting to see if Kanda had anything else to say before she moved away to the part of the garden Kanda had pointed out earlier. Kanda watched briefly as she set to work, before huffing quietly and turning back to tending the patch of soil in front of him, yanking out the weeds and tossing them to the side with perhaps a bit more force than was necessary. 

_It helped that she was quiet…_ decided Kanda when he finally looked up from his work several hours later brushing some of the dirt from his hands before wiping the rest onto his pants, not caring about the mess left on them, as he twisted to look over to where Grace was finishing up the patch of the flower bed she had been working in. And that for the most part, at least after having gotten started with something, she left him alone. _…Unlike most of the people he could name around the Order._

After Kanda had sat watching her for a few more minutes Grace placed another weed in the pile that had grown next to her, and as if noticing that she was being watched turned to look over her shoulder at him. Scraping the weeds he had pulled into a slightly neater pile Kanda gathered them up and got to his feet, sparing Grace a glance before heading toward the compost pile tucked away near a corner of the vegetable and herb garden. After a moment Kanda could hear the sound of Grace’s feet crossing the grass behind him, her strides quick in an effort to catch up with him, though he didn’t slow his pace. Once he’d deposited his load on top of the compost pile Kanda watched with narrowed eyes as Grace added her gathered clump of plant life on top of his, looking for any sign of her having pulled something she shouldn’t have. When Grace looked up at him while brushing the dirt from her hands, after she had dumped her weeds onto the pile Kanda snorted, turning away from the eye contact before brushing past her as he headed inside to wash up. 

After that Grace showed up the next day while Kanda was working in the garden as well, and by the time that Tiedoll and Marie returned to the Order with Daisya, Kanda and Grace had begun to form a routine of working on the garden together in the afternoon, in between Grace’s studies and time spent separately on various other tasks. 

 

On the day that Tiedoll, Marie and Daisya returned to the Order, they found Grace waiting for them when their boat docked at the Order’s underground entrance. 

Tiedoll looked up as their boat came within sight of the dock, pushing his glasses up with one hand before looking back over his shoulder toward Marie, and Daisya. “…Well,… it seems we have a welcoming committee waiting for us.” chuckled Tiedoll as he called the others attention to the small figure sitting on the last step of the staircase that led up from the dock. 

“Huh?” muttered Daisya as he rose from his seat, nimbly climbing over the seat and scattered bundles of their luggage, which sat in the bottom of the boat, to where Tiedoll was. He leaned forward curiously over the older man’s shoulder for a better look. “…Oh, is that the kid you were telling me about? …The one you found on your last mission?” 

Tiedoll nodded, a small smile playing around the corners of his lips as he leaned to one side a bit, turning his head to look over at Daisya, whose eyes were narrowed slightly as he studied Grace’s still somewhat distant form. 

“Well it looks like she’s at least managed to survive being stuck around Kanda so far.” quipped Daisya, baring his teeth in a grin as he continued. “So she might be small, but she has to have at least some guts in her to be able to do that…”  
“…Daisya.” scolded Tiedoll lightly giving the young man a reproving look, which only caused him to toss back his head with laughter, causing the round ball attached to the end of his long hood to jingle softly. 

“Ha,… I’m just kidding.” retorted Daisya as he started to move back toward his seat in the middle of the boat. “…Mostly.” He added with a sharp grin, causing the boat to sway gently for a moment as he dropped back down onto the wooden seat. 

A few minutes later their boat reached the dock and Daisya scooped up his bag, throwing it over one shoulder as he clambered out of the boat ahead of Tiedoll and Marie. Bounding across the dock and landing Daisya came to a stop in front of Grace, presenting her with a wide smile when she looked up.

“Hey! …So you must be the new kid.” exclaimed Daisya bending forward for a moment to Grace’s eye level before straightening as he thrust the thumb of his free hand toward his chest. “I’m Daisya. It’s nice to meet ya!” 

Looking a bit uncertain, Grace nodded in response to Daisya, then turned her attention toward Marie and Tiedoll who had joined them. 

“I see you’ve come to welcome us home.” said Tiedoll, reaching out to rest a hand atop Graces head for a moment, a small smile curving his lips. “…That’s very thoughtful of you, Grace. Have you been settling in well while we were gone?”

Movement at the corner of her vision caught Grace’s attention before she could respond, causing her to look over to where Marie stood. “Where’s Kanda?” asked Marie, turning his head slightly from side to side briefly before he angled his face down toward Grace.

“Knowing him he’s probably off somewhere practicing chopping things up with that sword of his.” called Daisya laughing, as he bounded up the stairs ahead of the others, glancing back over his shoulder briefly. “Last one in’s a rotten egg!” 

Shaking his head in slight amusement Tiedoll and the others followed in Daisya’s wake. They had not been inside for long, and had only had time to look around briefly before Daisya spotted Kanda as he crossed a corridor that passed by the hallway they were in, and headed toward him. Kanda’s pace slowed for an instant as he spotted the group then quickly turned away, looking as if he were trying to pretend that he hadn’t seen them and had always intended to change course. Kanda didn’t get far however as Daisya called out to him. 

“Hey Kanda, …Long time no see!” exclaimed Daisya, preventing Kanda’s escape by draping an arm around Kanda’s shoulders, which Kanda quickly attempted to shrug off as Daisya continued. “…I hear you got hurt on your last mission. …Think you’re still up for a rematch to our last game of soccer? …You can have Marie and I’ll take the kid.” Daisya paused, presenting Kanda with a wide smirk as Kanda growled under his breath at the reminder. “Or do you not think you can take it yet?”

Kanda scoffed, finally succeeding in shaking off Daisya’s arm from his shoulders by jabbing an elbow into the other teen’s side before stepping away. “I can take anything you’re bringing.” retorted Kanda as Daisya staggered away from him, holding his ribs while he groaned dramatically. “Even if I were hurt, I could still kick your ass.” 

“Yu, language!” scolded Tiedoll directing a look of disapproval toward Kanda, who huffed and rolled his eyes wordlessly, as Daisya erupted in laughter beside him.

Straightening after calming down from his fit of laughter, Daisya flashed Kanda a shark-like grin. “Then let’s do it.” He stated, tapping Grace’s shoulder roughly before starting down the hallway after Kanda. “Come on kid,… You’re with me!” 

As the trio departed, Marie lingered behind turning toward Tiedoll with a questioning expression. “General?” 

Tiedoll smiled slightly, waving Marie away down the hall. “Go on Marie. …Keep an eye on them and try to make sure no one gets hurt. I’ll see to delivering our report to Chief Komui and join you afterwards.”

Marie inclined his head in a nod before parting ways with Tiedoll, walking quickly away to catch up with Kanda, Daisya and Grace, as the General watched. 

By the time that Tiedoll finished making his report quite some time had passed and the game which had begun after briefly explaining the most basic elements to Grace, consisting mostly of the rule to not use your hands and which side of the field she should aim the ball toward, had become intense. 

For the most part Daisya had dominated the ball between himself and Grace, only occasionally passing it to her, but Grace was still beginning to tire as Tiedoll arrived and seated himself in the grass at the edge of the field. While the game went on, by now mostly taking place between Daisya and Kanda, with Marie acting as referee in order to keep the match from descending into a fist fight, Grace plopped down beside Tiedoll who was just taking out his sketch book intending to draw while watching the game.

“…They wear you out too I see.” chuckled Tiedoll, looking over at Grace with a small grin, as she tried to catch her breath. 

After Grace nodded they sat in silence for a time until Tiedoll glanced back over, noticing that Grace was watching the game with a particular intensity, a faint frown on her face. Tiedoll glanced toward where Kanda, Daisya, and Marie were still playing, watching for a moment before returning his attention to Grace. Reaching out he tapped her shoulder, offering her a reassuring smile as he spoke. 

“You needn’t worry about them. They may play rough, but they’ll be fine, …you’ll see.” assured Tiedoll, letting a few moments pass before he returned to his sketching.

Eventually the game ended in a draw when Daisya declared himself too exhausted to continue. Though he teased Daisya and boasted that he could still continue, Kanda seemed equally worn when he dropped to sit on the grass where he stood, a few yards away from Daisya’s wide armed sprawl. Both teens continued to trade verbal barbs and jabs back and forth as Daisya caught his breath, while Marie moved to settle on the grass near Tiedoll and Grace, listening with a slight smile.


	6. Chapter 6

Grace sat on a pile of books in the Science Section with her arms and chin propped on a second pile, watching as Johnny and Tapp stood laboring over a shard of her Innocence, running various tests on it while making notes of the outcomes. From where she sat it was impossible for her to follow their conversation, or make out any of what they were saying as they stood with their backs either partially or totally turned to her, but from their body language Grace thought that it looked like they were pleased with the results they were getting. Normally since Johnny was so deeply involved in working with one of the other scientists, Grace would have wandered off by now to let him work uninterrupted but since he was working with her Innocence specifically at the moment, Johnny had asked her to stay close.

“Hmm,… so do you think that’s an indication of the form it’s supposed to take?” asked Johnny looking over at Tapp as the other man scribbled notes related to the experiment they’d just completed.

Looking up from his note taking Tapp shrugged. “…I dunno, but it looks like you might be on the right track now anyway.”

As Johnny nodded and started to respond, Reever’s voice carried across the science section, interrupting them. “Hey Tapp,… I need you over here!” 

Both men looked toward the direction Reever’s call had come from for a moment before looking back at each other. “…Sorry Johnny, you’ll have to take it from here on your own.” said Tapp, handing the notes back to Johnny before calling out a response to Reever, as he started making his way across the room.

With a murmur of thanks Johnny nodded as Tapp departed, glancing down at the sheaf of papers in his hand before looking up at Grace and giving her a wide smile, which was contrasted by the dark circles under his eyes. “…Don’t worry, we made a lot of progress. …I’ll have your Innocence figured out in no time now.”

Grace nodded wordlessly, her blue eyes surveying Johnny as he sat down at the table to continue examining the Innocence, occasionally pausing to make another note. He hadn’t worked for long before another voice broke through the constant murmur and chatter of the science section, drawing his attention. Seeing that Johnny had stopped working, Grace followed his gaze toward the front of the large room that housed the science section. Near the doors, she saw that Lenalee stood holding a large tray, which was loaded with mugs full of steaming coffee. 

Lenalee smiled while looking around the room, before holding up the tray slightly as she called out. “Who wants some coffee?” 

Shouts and calls of relief and acceptance of the offer of caffeine rang out from various parts of the room, and Grace hopped up from the books she was sitting on making her way toward where Lenalee was, just as Johnny raised a hand saying “…I’d like some too, Lenalee.”

As Grace approached, Lenalee looked over at her with a smile. “Are you going to help me serve everyone’s coffee?” asked Lenalee, lowering the tray a bit so that the shorter girl would be able to remove the mugs on it more easily. “…Be careful though, the coffee is hot.” 

Nodding Grace carefully removed a couple of the mugs from the tray, holding one in each hand as Lenalee continued, instructing her as to their delivery. “Take those to Johnny and Reever, then come back and you can help me hand out the rest too.” 

Grace inclined her head in a nod of agreement, then turned, weaving her way through piled high desks and stacks of books to deliver the cups of coffee to Johnny and Reever who thanked her and called out their thanks to Lenalee as well. Together she and Lenalee delivered a few more cups of coffee to the members of the science division, with Lenalee stopping to talk several times along the way. Eventually a voice rang out above the normal chatter, interrupting Lenalee’s current conversation.

“Is that my sweet sister’s voice I hear?” cried Komui, his voice taking on a distinct whining tone as he continued. “Lenalee… please tell me you’ve brought your brother some coffee? ….I’m dying here,… with all this work being piled on me...”

A momentary expression of mingled embarrassment and frustration crossed Lenalee’s face before she let out her breath in a sigh, shaking her head. A slight smile curved her lips as she turned toward Komui’s office to call out a response. “I’m coming Brother. …Just let me finish here first.” 

“Please hurry, Lenalee,… I think I might pass out if I don’t get some caffeine soon.” moaned Komui dramatically. 

Grace watched as Lenalee’s lips moved, mouthing something about being overdramatic, before the older girl shifted her gaze to look over at Grace. “…Will you be able to finish handing the rest of these out for me?” asked Lenalee, holding out the tray slightly as she offered Grace a smile, her brows raised questioningly. 

After Grace had taken the tray from Lenalee while responding to her question with a nod, Lenalee smiled, taking one of the mugs that still remained on the tray. “Thanks.” said Lenalee smiling back over her shoulder as she turned to head toward Komui’s office. 

“Brother,… I’ve brought you your coffee.” said Lenalee holding up Komui’s Yoshi adorned mug with a slight smile as she stepped into his office. 

“Ahh,… Lenalee you’re an angel! …I thought I was going to faint from being overworked.” moaned Komui mournfully, tears welling at the corner of his eyes as Lenalee picked her way through the drifts of paperwork that were scattered across the floor to hand him his coffee mug. “…Just look at how much paperwork they’re giving me to do…”

Lenalee shook her head as she started to sort through one of the stacks perched on the edge of Komui’s desk after she had handed off his mug to him. “…Is there anything I can help with?” asked Lenalee, looking up from the papers for a moment to glance over at Komui.

Komui’s demeanor shifted, his expression rapidly sobering as he took one more sip of his coffee before setting it aside. Turning slightly Komui picked up a file from the edge of his desk, holding it out to Lenalee. 

“…Actually, I’m afraid that you’ll be too busy for that. …You’re to be sent out on a new mission to investigate a report we’ve had from a supporter of the Order in France. Several groups of Finders have been sent out to investigate already,… but unfortunately we haven’t heard anything since shortly after their arrivals.” Komui inclined his head toward the folder in Lenalee’s hand before continuing. “That mission briefing contains what we know so far,… but I’d like you to go and investigate the situation, and see if you can find out what might have happened to the Finders.” 

“I see.” murmured Lenalee nodding as she flipped through the pages of the mission briefing for a moment before looking back up at Komui. “…When am I supposed to leave?” 

Komui smiled slightly at the quickness of Lenalee’s response, though his brow remained knitted in concern. “…As soon as possible. …I’m also going to be sending several Finders with you however. Given how little we were able to find out, and the number of Finders that have already gone missing, you may need all the help you can get in the situation you’ll be walking into. 

Lenalee nodded, giving Komui a reassuring smile. “I’ll be careful Brother. Don’t worry.” 

“Of course.” replied Komui, nodding as well while returning Lenalee’s smile. “…Even so, please be sure to come back home safely.” 

“I will.” agreed Lenalee as she tucked the mission briefing under her arm before turning to leave. Pausing at the door she looked back over her shoulder at Komui, giving him a bright smile. “I’ll see you later.”

“I’ll see you soon.” replied Komui nodding as he continued smiling. He lifted a hand to wave goodbye as Lenalee slipped out the door, watching for a moment as the door closed behind her, his smile fading. He only hoped that would truly be the case. That Lenalee’s mission would go without incident, and that her return to the safety of the Order, and home, would be swift. However, he knew that at the very least a week or more was likely to pass before Lenalee’s return.

Unfortunately, contrary to Komui’s hopes, Lenalee’s mission had not gone as smoothly as planned. Just as had occurred with the groups of Finders that had been sent out, contact with Lenalee’s group had been lost shortly after their arrival. Koumui had been left beside himself with worry, in spite of his attempts to appear otherwise, until contact was reestablished a few days later. 

Resting his hand on the phone sitting on his desk Komui took a breath to compose himself and try to prepare for whatever the news might be, as members of the science section began filtering into his office shortly after the word from the communications section of the reestablished contact came through, before lifting the phone from its receiver.

“Hello? This is Chief Komui Lee speaking…” said Komui leaning forward slightly as he held the phone to his ear, an intent frown knitting his brow as he listened for a reply. 

Silence stretched over the line for several moments before a voice spoke, sounding exhausted and hovering on the verge of tears, as it came out in a subdued murmur. “…Brother?” 

“Lenalee,… Thank God!” exclaimed Komui. Closing his eyes as he let out a sigh of relief, Komui briefly covered his eyes with his free hand. Straightening in his chair a few moments later as he pulled himself together, Komui tried to ignore the relieved murmurs from the others in his office while he continued, holding the phone more tightly against his ear to block out the noise. “…Are you all right?” 

“Yes,… but the others…” Lenalee’s voice broke, then choked off in a sob, preventing her from speaking further as she began to cry.

His brow knitting once again in concern, Komui softened his voice to a comforting tone as he asked. “Lenalee, …What happened?” 

As Lenalee’s crying continued, in spite of Komui’s soothing murmurs, the chatter in the room gradually dropped off. Feeling eyes on him Komui looked up to meet Reever’s gaze as the other man mouthed a question as to what was wrong and if Lenalee was all right. Pausing in his murmurs to his sister for a moment, Komui shook his head mouthing a response that Lenalee had said she was fine, though from the way Reever’s brows drew together and his lips tightened he had likely picked up that that wasn’t the whole story. A few moments later Komui watched as Reever began to gather the other scientists and usher them out of the office, allowing Komui to devote his full attention to Lenalee without distractions.

Eventually Lenalee calmed enough to begin making her report. As Komui listened Lenalee told of reaching Aveyron and beginning to make inquires before learning of strange rumors about a small village nearby and that the groups of Finders had indicated plans to head there the last time they had been seen. Lenalee and the Finders with her had decided to do the same, and upon their arrival in the village things had at first seemed relatively normal in spite of the rumors they had heard. But that had not remained the case. The village had become a nest of Akuma following an outbreak of disease that devastated its population, and ultimately no humans were left remaining. Though Lenalee and her group managed to destroy the Akuma, Lenalee herself had been left as the sole survivor afterwards.

Komui’s heart broke at the pain he could hear in his sister’s voice as she relayed the events of the past few days, beginning to cry once more as she reached the conclusion. Komui softened his voice to the gentlest tone possible as he spoke again after a few minutes had passed. “…But you are all right? …You weren’t hurt?” At Lenalee’s reassertion that she was fine, Komui allowed himself a relieved exhale though his brow remained knitted. “…Then come home Lenalee, please? …I promise everything will be okay…”

After hearing Lenalee’s agreement and finishing up the call Komui hung up the phone, his shoulders slumping as he leaned forward over his desk, holding his head in his hands as he rested his elbows on its paper covered surface. Komui gritted his teeth against the wave of powerlessness that swept through him at his inability to protect his younger sister from harm. Feeling suddenly suffocated by his uselessness and the stifling atmosphere of his office Komui rose to his feet, quickly making his way out of the room, ending up on a balcony overlooking the science section. Resting his hands on the ledge in front of him, Komui looked out over the large area, taking in the bustle of activity as he allowed his eyes to pan over the scene.

Komui let his gaze trail after the courses of various members of the science section, as they moved about on their duties, for a while. Eventually his eyes finally settled on where Grace was sitting next to Johnny’s desk, watching while he worked. 

Though Grace was already older than Lenalee had been when she had been taken by the Order, and in contrast had agreed to come along willingly, Komui found it difficult to keep from seeing a similarity between her and his sister. It was a large portion of the reason that he has assigned the work of modifying Grace’s Innocence for use, solely to Johnny. A part of him regretted placing yet another task on the already overworked scientist’s shoulders, but by doing so he had hoped to delay the modification of Grace’s Innocence for use and keep her out of the field for as long as possible. 

By the time he had reached a position of authority within the Order, it had been far too late for him to be able to protect Lenalee in a similar way, as she had already long been a known exorcist. He was aware that his attitude, if not the action itself, would likely not be looked on favorably by some others if they knew. However considering her small size and age along with her disability, he could only imagine the sort of fate that would await her in the field, especially in light of how things had turned out with Lenalee’s recent mission. 

Several days passed before Lenalee’s expected return to the European Branch’s headquarters arrived, and in that time, the news of additional casualties among other groups of Finders had reached the Order. As Komui stood waiting for Lenalee’s return his lips thinned as the thought of the coffins, which had gradually been arriving all morning to accumulate in the main chapel, crossed his mind once more. 

_…Things are beginning to heat up,… attacks by Akuma are becoming more frequent all the time, and in ever larger numbers…_ thought Komui, his eyes flitting back toward the canal to check for any sign of Lenalee’s arrival before narrowing once more. _…The question is why? …What might be going on that we don’t know about to cause such an increase now?..._

Behind him Komui could hear the quiet murmur of voices from the other members of the Order who had gathered welcome Lenalee back, pick up in volume slightly pulling him out of his thoughts. Catching sight of Lenalee sitting near the back of the approaching boat with her head bowed and shoulders slumped Komui stepped closer to the dock, reaching it just as the craft came to a stop. As Lenalee looked up, Komui spread his arms wide putting on a smile. “Welcome home Lenalee.” 

Komui caught a brief glimpse of tears beginning to well up in Lenalee’s eyes as she quickly got to her feet, before she was out of the boat and coming toward him to bury her face against his chest as her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. 

“…B-brother,… I-” began Lenalee before her voice choked off. 

Komui’s throat tightened as well, and he felt tears sting at his eyes briefly, before he wrapped his arms around Lenalee as well. “Shh,… it’s okay. Everything will be okay…” murmured Komui soothingly as he stroked Lenalee’s head with one hand, his other arm tightening around her. 

A faint frown crossed Komui’s face as he felt Lenalee flinch when his hold tightened, before he quickly loosened it once more. After a few minutes he pulled away, pushing Lenalee back slightly as he looked down to study her more closely. Komui’s frown deepened as he caught sight of a dark bruise and scratches that marked the side of Lenalee’s head near her temple and a cut that lay along her cheekbone, with still other signs of injury possibly remaining hidden from his view.

“…You are hurt…” murmured Komui quietly, his fingers gently tracing along the edge of Lenalee’s injuries before moving to brush away her tears. Wrapping his arm around his sister’s shoulders once more Komui turned to lead Lenalee toward the steps that led inside, letting her lean against him for support as they walked. “Come,…We should get you inside and let someone see to your injuries.”

As Lenalee and Komui passed by several people reached out to pat Lenalee’s shoulder or back reassuringly or add their own words welcoming her back. After Lenalee and Komui had passed by, Grace looked over to Johnny who was standing beside her. A series of emotions flitted across her face before settling into a frown as her eyes moved back and forth between him and the direction that Komui and Lenalee had gone. 

“Don’t worry.” said Johnny glancing down to smile reassuringly at Grace as he patted her head. “Lenalee will be fine.” 

Grace shook her head in response as Johnny turned away to reply to one of the other members of the science section. A look of frustration crossed her face, and she huffed out a breath before looking back to the doorway that Komui and Lenalee had gone through, the furrow between her brows deepening.

Komui had stayed by Lenalee’s side the entire time she was being treated for her injuries, apart from brief moments when he had been shooed away while she was being examined or changing from her uniform into a patient’s gown. As a result he had completely lost track of time, so that when Lenalee was finally being settled into a bed to rest Komui had no idea how long he had been in the medical section with her when Reever arrived there looking for him. 

“Hey Chief Komui,… Is there something you forgot about? …Like a couple of people saying they’re ‘Bookmen’ and that they’ve come to see you?” said Reever as he moved to stand in the doorway of Lenalee’s room after he had started to pass by it and then had to backtrack. “…Because they’re waiting up in your office right now.” 

Komui started, surprise crossing his face for a moment before he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. “Oh,… right.” He half turned toward Reever with a faintly sheepish expression “…Reever, please show them to the walkway overlooking the main chapel. I should take some time to check in on things, and will meet with them there.” 

Reever sighed slightly, but nodded as he started to turn to leave. “Sure, fine. …But make sure you don’t take too long getting there, okay Chief?”

After Reever had gone, Komui turned back to Lenalee with an apologetic expression. “…Lenalee, I-…” 

Lenalee shook her head slightly, interrupting Komui before he could continue. “Go on Brother. …I’ll be fine.” said Lenalee putting on a brave smile in spite of the traces of tears that still lingered at the corners of her eyes.

“Okay.” agreed Komui, squeezing Lenalee’s hand gently as he returned her smile before moving to stand. “I’ll come back to check on you later, okay?” Komui added, resting his hand on Lenalee’s head for a moment before turning to go, after she had nodded in reply. 

Meanwhile in Komui’s office, a short older man, and red hair teenager looked up from their conversation at the sound of the door opening behind them, as Reever stepped into the room.

“Thank you for waiting, our Chief is ready to see you.” said Reever coming to a stop several steps into the room as the older man and teen rose from the couch they had been seated on. “I’m sorry it took so long,… but if you’ll follow me, I’ll show you the way to him now.” 

As the older man and teen boy followed Reever, their eyes swept over the hallways they passed through, drinking in and cataloging each detail with focused intensity. As the group reached where Komui stood, looking over the railing in front of him, the scientist turned toward them putting on a smile as he stepped forward.

“I welcome you to the Black Order gentlemen, Science Section Chief Komui Lee.” said Komui extending a hand down to the older man, as Reever excused himself to return to his duties.

“I don’t have a name so I would prefer for you to call me Bookman.” said the older man as he reached out to take Komui’s hand, shaking it briefly before slanting his gaze to where the red haired teen stood beside him, as he continued. “That young man there is Lavi, my successor.”

While Bookman and Komui continued talking, Lavi let his attention to the conversation drift slightly as he took in the view of the room below them. Looking down into the main chapel Lavi surveyed the rows upon rows of cross adorned boxes that filled the room, with individuals or small groups of people gathered near various ones.

 _…Coffins? …Is this a funeral?_ wondered Lavi as he took in the sight below. From the number of coffins he could count, in contrast with the number of people that Lavi had seen so far, he decided that they must be on the losing side. It wouldn’t be the first time that he and Bookman had recorded events from the defeated side in a war, after all a bookman’s duty was to record the secret history of the world and usually, known history ended up being written by the victors. It just meant that it was that much more important that he not get attached to any of the people here, even though he was supposed to be acting like one of their allies. 

As he turned his attention back to the coffin-filled room Lavi’s eye widened as he noticed that one person had turned from their grieving and was now looking up at him. As their eyes met and locked Lavi let out a soft gasp. In the wars that he and Bookman had recorded in the past there had occasionally been “child” solders, but he had rarely seen any who appeared as young as the girl who was looking at him now, they had all been his age or older and never had any of them been girls. Much less ones who ended up as severely injured as this girl was, as most of the adults around still tried to protect the younger members in their forces, and keep them away from the hottest parts of the front lines and out of the worst battles as much as possible.

Lavi’s brow knitted slightly, and he continued to find himself unable to tear his gaze away from the girl until a voice, accompanied by a sharp jab to his ribs jerked him from his thoughts. 

“…-vi, ….Lavi!” repeated Bookman as his young apprentice looked down at him. 

To anyone else the frown Bookman wore would have been imperceptible, but by now Lavi had long learned to read the majority of Bookman’s most subtle expressions. From the mild irritation in Bookman’s eyes Lavi guessed that Bookman had probably called his new name more than a few times before elbowing him to get his attention. “…Ah, sorry!... Got lost in my thoughts.” said Lavi, putting on a sheepish smile for the benefit of Komui and any onlookers as he chuckled lightly, raising one hand to rub the back of his neck for a moment. 

Bookman sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, before flicking his gaze away as he turned to follow Komui who had started down the hall. “Just pay attention, …and come along already.”

“Right.” agreed Lavi as he trailed after Bookman and Chief Komui, who kept up a nearly non-stop line of chatter, as he gave them both a short tour of the Order. Eventually Bookman dismissed Lavi to go off on his own while he and Chief Komui had a further discussion in Komui’s office and Lavi wandered a bit more before eventually making his way down to the Order’s dining hall where he met the girl he saw earlier. In the course of their conversation he learned that she was Chief Komui’s sister Lenalee, and that while she was still younger than Lavi himself they were closer in age than he had initially believed. While in the dining hall Lavi also met some of the members of the Black Order’s science section.

A few days later Lavi and Bookman were heading toward the Order’s library, conversing in low tones as they walked, when a slight commotion around a corner ahead of them drew the pair’s attention. Lavi and Bookman glanced toward each other for a moment, then continued on to be greeted by the sound of raucous laughter as they rounded the corner. 

In the open area that lay just beyond the short hall, a dark haired teen with his hair tied up in a long pony tail lunged toward another teen, who continued laughing, only to be restrained by tall, broad shouldered man with dark skin. With them was an older man wearing glasses, who appeared to be trying to defuse whatever the situation was between the two teens. 

“…Now Yu, calm down…” Tiedoll was saying as Lavi and Bookman came to a stop a short distance away, observing the scene. 

“He started it!...” growled Kanda, looking past Tiedoll to narrow his eyes at Daisya who continued laughing. 

“…Yu, …Daisya…” sighed Tiedoll, rubbing his temple as he shook his head. “…I’m sure that both of you are tired, since we just got back. But could you please try to be around each other without fighting for just a bit longer?... At least long enough to get through making our report.”

“I will, if he will…” retorted Daisya, still wearing a wide smirk, though he was no longer laughing as he glanced toward Tiedoll for a moment. 

Kanda snorted derisively while looking away, though he stopped fighting against Marie’s efforts to restrain him, instead folding his arms over his chest. “…Whatever,… let’s just get this over with.” 

“Thank you.” murmured Tiedoll, nodding slightly at both Kanda and Daisya, while including Marie in his statement as well, as Marie released his hold on Kanda. Turning Tiedoll caught sight of Lavi and Bookman watching, his eyes widening almost imperceptibly for an instant before he recovered his composure. General Tiedoll put on a warm smile as he stepped forward. “Ah, you must be the new exorcists. I’d heard about your arrival to the Order,… thank you for joining us. …I’m General Froi Tiedoll.” 

While Bookman continued chatting with General Tiedoll after having introduced himself and Lavi, Lavi made his way over to where the other three were, noting that they seemed closer to his age. At least more so than either the General or Bookman were. 

“Hey there, …I’m Lavi.” said the redhead by way of introduction, as he put on a wide, friendly smile before nodding along and shaking both Marie and Daisya’s hands while they introduced themselves. After a few minutes of idle chatter, during which the remaining tension in the air seemed to settle, Lavi decided to try to satisfy his curiosity. “…So not that it’s any of my business,… but that seemed like some heated disagreement that we walked up on earlier. …What was going on?”

“Ah that…” began Daisya, glancing briefly toward Kanda out of the corner of his eye before focusing his full attention on Lavi, wearing a smirk. “You see there’s this kid here at the Order that kind of tends to follow Kanda around. …Anyway usually she shows up whenever we get back, but we hadn’t seen her yet so I was asking wha-…” 

Daisya broke off suddenly, leaping out of the way of the downward slice of Kanda’s sword, with another bark of laughter. “Take it easy, Kanda… I was just answering the question, no big deal.” 

Lavi watched as Daisya dodged several more swipes from Kanda’s sword before finally deciding that maybe it would be best for him to intervene, and that it fit within his current character’s personality to do so, before things escalated further. Though Kanda hadn’t bothered to introduce himself along with Marie and Daisya, Lavi recalled having overheard their General address him as Yuu, and decided to do the same, in hopes of projecting a more friendly and calming air. 

“Calm down Yu,… There’s no need to get all worked up…” as he spoke, Lavi raised his hands in a placating gesture, taking a step or two toward Kanda before stopping abruptly as he felt the razor sharp edge of Kanda’s sword graze the underside of his chin. 

“…What did you call me?” asked Kanda in a low, dangerous tone as he spoke through gritted teeth. His eyes narrowed as he eyed the interfering red-head that was at the other end of his sword while waiting for an answer. 

Lavi allowed a slightly uneasy expression to cover his features, pairing it with a nervous looking swallow as he mentally calculated how much time he would have to react to Kanda’s next move and his possible options for preventing himself from being skewered. “Uh,... Yuu?” answered Lavi in what he felt was a suitably anxious tone.

Kanda growled, his grip tightening on Mugen’s hilt. “Don’t ever call me that!” he grunted as he lunged forward causing Lavi to hop backward out of the path of Mugen’s blade. 

This pattern continued for several minutes with Kanda attempting to attack Lavi, and Lavi quickly hopping backward away from Kanda’s blows. While Kanda looked as if he was more than willing to continue this until he finally managed to land a blow, Lavi was beginning to grow bored and tired of this form of interaction and was debating how best to end the encounter when a sharp, frustrated female voice broke into Lavi’s thoughts, freezing both himself and Kanda in place.

“Kanda, stop it!” shouted Lenalee, causing Lavi and Kanda to both turn toward her with startled expressions, as she continued. “…Hasn’t-… hasn’t there been enough fighting and people getting hurt already recently?” Lenalee said in a voice that wavered slightly as she settled most of her attention on Kanda, her hands curling in the fabric of her uniform skirt as she spoke. 

Most of Lenalee’s attention seemed focused on Kanda, which Lavi assumed was because he and Bookman were currently new to the order and still learning their way around the European Branch’s internal hierarchy. Still, Lavi watched in surprise as Kanda’s expression shifted subtly toward awkwardness when tears began to well in the corners of Lenalees’ eyes. And a few minutes later Kanda looked away, huffing indignantly as he let Mugen fall to his side, his fingers tightening briefly on its grip. 

“Fine.” muttered the teenaged swordsman, shooting a parting glare in Lavi’s direction before sliding Mugen into its sheath and spinning on his heel to storm off down the hall. 

As he departed a little girl who Lavi hadn’t noticed until then, slipped past he and Lenalee to follow in Kanda’s wake, almost running in her attempt to catch and keep up with Kanda’s longer and faster stride. Lavi watched as the girl glanced back at him for a moment before she and Kanda rounded a corner, then once they were gone Lavi looked over at Lenalee putting on a slight smile while chuckling sheepishly, as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Heh, thanks Lenalee… I think you just saved my life back there. …Is Yu always that crabby?” 

Wiping her eyes Lenalee took a moment to regain her composure before she returned Lavi’s smile, shaking her head. “…Not exactly,… but you probably shouldn’t call Kanda by his first name anymore either.” said Lenalee, her brow knitting almost imperceptibly, as a tinge of concern flickered in her eyes for a moment before her expression cleared. “You’ll be safer that way.” She added, her smile returning.

“No kidding.” agreed Lavi, a light chuckle to slip past his lips in what he thought seemed like a fitting response to Lenalee’s words. 

Letting his gaze travel back to the hall Kanda and the girl had gone down, after Lenalee had turned her attention toward talking with the others, Lavi narrowed his eyes slightly. So far he had found little difference between the people here at the Order and the humans he had encountered during any of their other records. Particularly in the case of Kanda, who seemed to be just like any of the humans he had encountered in the past, with his easily angered and blatantly bloodthirsty personality. And apart from a few minor exceptions there didn’t seem to be anything special about any of them. Like all the others, they were simply ink waiting to be spilled on a page. He wondered just how long he and Bookman would be stuck at the Order to record the history here.


	7. Chapter 7

The harsh crack of wood slapping sharply against wood echoed through the air repeatedly as Lavi deftly parried a series of blows from a wooden practice sword, the last of which had been directed dangerously close to his head. Growling in frustration Kanda fell back half a step, jerking his head sharply to the side to clear away a few strands of hair from his ponytail that had gotten stuck to the sweat on his cheek. Attempting to take advantage of Kanda’s momentary distraction Lavi shifted his grip on the staff he was using, aiming the end in a jab toward the swordsman’s ribs. In spite of his brief lack of attention, the movement as Lavi moved quickly toward him was either sensed or caught out of the corner of Kanda’s eye, allowing Kanda an instant to brace himself just in time to catch Lavi’s attack with the practice sword. His lips twisting in a fierce smirk, Kanda grunted slightly in approval of Lavi’s attempted attack.

Grace wore a small frown as she sat against one of the walls in the Order’s training room, watching as Kanda and Lavi continued the match that had begun after Lavi had once again said or did something that sparked Kanda’s temper. In the month or so that had passed since the arrival of Lavi and Bookman, similar incidents had occurred several times already, nearly all ending with a vicious sparring match between the two. 

As she watched Lavi block yet another one of Kanda’s strikes, giving the irritated swordsman a sharp edged smirk as he darted back to give himself more room before pressing forward with an attack of his own, Grace felt that she still wasn’t sure what to make of the redheaded exorcist. She had seen that Lavi was usually friendly, and nearly always was smiling as he joked and talked with the other exorcists and scientists in the Order, seeming to have nearly boundless energy as he chatted with anyone who would listen. However in spite of that, at other times, like now as he sparred with Kanda or when he didn’t think anyone was paying attention, Grace had noticed that Lavi’s eyes would turn distant and become unreasonably cold and calculating as he looked on emotionlessly at the people around him. It frightened her a little, and made her wary of being around Lavi even when he would attempt to interact with her in a friendly manner, which sometimes happened when he decided to talk with Johnny and the other scientists or to amuse himself by bothering Kanda. 

Movement caught out of the corner of her eye as someone else entered the training room pulled Grace from her thoughts. Turning her head she saw that Bookman had entered the room and as she watched he called out to Lavi, whatever he said being enough for Lavi to call the match with Kanda to a stop, with Kanda complying to the request without complaint. As Lavi came over to Bookman, Grace watched closely and was able to make out him saying something about ‘a mission’ to which Bookman nodded in response before both he and Lavi made their way out of the room. 

When Grace looked back toward the center of the training room a few moments later she saw that Kanda had left the practice floor to put away his wooden training sword and retrieve Mugen from where he had left it, and was now wiping sweat from his face and neck with a towel. Draping the towel over his shoulders when he was done, Kanda crossed the room toward the doors which were behind where Grace was sitting. As he passed by her Grace quickly got to her feet, trailing after Kanda for a little ways until he turned off down one of the halls, heading toward the Order’s baths. 

After Kanda left her, Grace continued on toward the garden as that had been where they had been headed when Lavi had interrupted things by picking a fight with Kanda, assuming that Kanda would come join her there for their usual time spent tending to it, after he had finished washing up. 

 

The following day Kanda was sent out on a mission of his own, which was anticipated to last for several days, leaving Grace to spend more of her time with other members of the Order in his absence. 

“Hey Grace! You’re just in time.” called Johnny as he caught sight of Grace entering the science section, leaning back in his chair almost dangerously he waved a hand to get her attention, he waited until she looked toward him before motioning for her to come over to where he was. When Grace reached him Johnny hopped up from his chair, a broad smile coming to his face as he continued. “Guess who finally got your Innocence ready?” said Johnny his chest puffing out proudly as he tucked one hand into his pocket before pointing toward himself with a thumb in response to Grace’s questioning look.

Grace’s eyes widened in surprise, and she looked around for a moment for the Innocence, before Johnny tapped her shoulder to regain her attention. 

“It’s in one of the labs right now. …We can go test it out if you want.” said Johnny, turning to gather up some things from his desk after Grace nodded in reply. Motioning for her to follow him Johnny glanced back over his shoulder as he led the way toward the doors. “…Come on then. I’ll show you the way there.” 

After traveling a short ways down the hall Johnny led Grace inside a large, mostly empty room, it’s walls and floor were lined with rounded stone blocks, and in the center of the room a large circle was created by a smooth patch of cement which was edged by a ring of white that stood out sharply from the unyielding gray. While Grace examined her surroundings Johnny moved around the room pulling and pushing various monitoring devices and recorders in place around the circle, setting things up for their test of Grace’s Innocence. A short time later everything seemed to be set up to Johnny’s satisfaction and he went over to the large table set up next to a control panel that was located in a corner of the room, arranging a few notebooks and other tools on its surface before turning back to Grace.

“Okay,… I think everything is ready now.” said Johnny as he motioned for Grace to follow him a short distance across the room, after getting her attention, to where a locked metal box sat on a table just inside the ring of recording devices. Johnny moved to turn on a few of the closest recorders, changing the angle of one slightly so that it would better pick up what was about to go on where Grace stood. Coming back to the table Johnny dug a key out of his pocket, he unlocked the box with it and flipped open the lid, then stepped back slightly to look over at Grace with a smile. “Well,… what do you think?”

Grace peered into the box, confusion coloring her expression as she took in the sight of the neatly folded pale green ribbons inside. The ribbons seemed to harbor a faint internal light, which brightened minutely as Grace started to reach toward them for a moment before hesitating. Turning Grace looked up at Johnny wearing a frown, as she waved a hand toward the box and its contents. While she had seen Kanda’s, Tiedoll’s, Marie’s, and even Lavi’s Innocence in their weapon forms, they had for the most part at least still seemed like something that could be defined as a weapon. The current form of her innocence wasn’t at all what Grace had been expecting based on what she had seen of the others, and it left her confused and wondering if there had been some sort of mistake. As if she hadn’t already been afraid of having to somehow fight the monsters that she had seen on their way to the Order, now she was even more fearful about being expected to do so.

Still smiling Johnny reached past Grace to gingerly take one of the ribbons out of the box, motioning for Grace to turn to face him and hold out one of her arms as he let it unfurl to reveal its full length. “Come here and I’ll help you put them on.” said Johnny as he wrapped the middle of the ribbon around Grace’s upper arm a couple of times before continuing downward, crisscrossing the two sides of the Innocence back and forth over her forearm until he reached her wrist. Tying off the Innocence with a neat bow which left the ends trailing past Grace’s fingertips, Johnny repeated the process on her other arm, looking back up at Grace once he was finished. “There. It looks like that’s all right so far… Go stand in the middle of the circle over there.” said Johnny, pointing behind Grace to where the white edged cement circle stood. 

Grace’s eyes flicked uncertainly over Johnny’s face for a moment before she moved to do as instructed. 

While Grace went to the center of the circle, which had spells set on it to act as a protective barrier for those outside it in the rare event of something going wrong, Johnny worked on activating the last of the monitoring equipment.

Once it looked like both he and Grace were ready, Johnny spoke up to verbally note for the recording equipment the start of testing. “This is Johnny Gill, starting the first test of the Innocence paired with Accommodator Grace Marsden.” Looking over to where Grace stood, Johnny waved his arms to get Grace’s attention before calling out to her. “Okay! …Go ahead and activate the Innocence.”

Grace blinked, looking back and forth between Johnny and the Innocence that adorned her arms several times before shifting her attention to digging her journal out of the bag she always carried. Turning the book sideways after flipping to the first blank page, Grace wrote in large letters across it, so that Johnny would be able to see the writing from where he was. When she was finished Grace held up the page for Johnny to see what was written on it, wearing a confused frown. _‘How?’_

Now Johnny looked confused as well. He had never really thought before about the specifics of how Lenalee, Kanda and the other exorcists actually made their Innocence work, since by the time he had joined the Order, all of them were already established as exorcists. There were also few indications in the past research and documentation he had looked at while figuring out how to form Grace’s Innocence for use, as frequently accommodators were discovered by the effect they had on a piece of Innocence already in their possession. Additionally, most exorcists generally seemed to have various verbal commands that they used to activate and control their Innocence, which in Grace’s case was an unlikely possibility at best. 

“Um…” began Johnny after a few minutes had passed. “Try thinking about making it do something. Concentrate and really focus on making it respond to you.”

The look Grace gave Johnny was doubtful, but in spite of her clear skepticism she complied, setting her journal and accompanying pencil on the ground at her feet. Standing a bit straighter Grace held her arms out in front of her, a frown of concentration spreading across her face as she stared down at the pale green ribbons of Innocence that were threaded over them. Even though she was doing her best to follow along with Johnny’s orders, Grace still didn’t feel like she had any idea what she was actually supposed to be doing. For one thing she had no idea of what her Innocence was supposed to look like when activated, much less what it should do. 

_Would it somehow turn into a pair of some sort of bladed weapons, similar to Kanda’s sword? …Or maybe it would be something more like Marie’s Noel Organon, with its thin strands of wire connected to rings?_ Grace wondered. Some instinct made her think that the latter felt closer to being right, but still she wondered if it could be something else entirely. 

After several minutes had passed without any response from her Innocence Grace closed her eyes, the fingers of her hands curling into fists as she concentrated harder, trying to make it do anything at all. 

Finally a couple of hours later Johnny called a halt to things for the day, ultimately despite Grace’s efforts they had made little progress. While there several times when the Innocence’s glow had seemed to flare briefly brighter, it had failed to actually activate. As Johnny unwound the Innocence from Grace’s arms, carefully returning it to the lock box, he gave her a reassuring smile. 

“Don’t worry, we can try some more tomorrow. …Maybe it will just take a little while for you to adjust to the Innocence.” He said, being sure to tell Grace to take it easy for the rest of the day and make sure to get something to eat. As Grace nodded and turned to leave once her arms were freed from her Innocence, Johnny reached out to catch her shoulder, stopping her. When she turned back to him Johnny rubbed the back of his head for a moment before pushing up his glasses as he continued. 

“By the way,… maybe think about a name for your Innocence. …Usually the whole science section comes up with a name for each of the Innocence, but since it’s mostly just the two of us this time…” Johnny trailed off shrugging. While what he said was true, there was some small, barely acknowledged part of him that wondered if Grace’s having some input on the subject might make some sort of difference in her ability to connect with the Innocence enough to use it. “…You don’t have to come up with something right away,… just be thinking about it.” 

After Grace had nodded once more in response and left Johnny turned his attention toward the equipment spread across the room, before moving to begin gathering everything up. He planned to spend time thoroughly going over all of the footage and measurements that had been taken, looking for any hints of something that might help him figure out what Grace needed to do in order to activate her Innocence.

 

Kanda returned to the Order the following week, after having finished his mission, which had taken a little longer than originally anticipated. By the time that he reached headquarters the hour was late enough that most people were already asleep in bed, leaving the hallways darkened and empty. Kanda thought that it was just as well, since it meant that he would be able to wait until tomorrow before giving his report to Komui. However he also knew that it probably meant that the kitchen would have long since closed for the night. 

Huffing in annoyance Kanda made his way toward the Order’s kitchen, wondering if he might still be able to find something to eat regardless. He was exhausted and starving, having foregone dinner on the train back as he had anticipated being able to get a meal that was actually decent, in the form of Jerry’s soba when he got back. Upon reaching the kitchen Kanda began to quietly rummage through the cabinets and containers in the storage area off the main part of the kitchen. While he doubted that Jerry would have already made soba tucked away somewhere, since Jerry usually prepared every meal fresh upon being ordered, Kanda thought that he could probably manage to make it himself if he had to. Though that also felt like it would be a lot more trouble than what he wanted to go to right now.

After he had been digging around for a few minutes, Kanda suddenly froze as he heard a noise from behind him, which sounded like someone entering the kitchen. Emerging silently from the storage room Kanda swept the kitchen with narrowed eyes before scoffing softly as he caught sight of the source for the sound he had heard. Glancing around the dimly lit room Kanda picked up a folded towel that had been left on one of the prep spaces, balling the towel up before throwing it. 

Grace jumped in surprise as she was hit by the towel, causing her to bump into a nearby table behind her. As it flew across the room the towel had unfurled before landing on Grace’s head, so that she had to yank it off before looking over sharply to see who had thrown it, directing a frown at the perpetrator as she pressed one hand to her chest.

A smirk came to Kanda’s lips as Grace looked over at him. “What do you think you’re doing up pipsqueak? Trying to sneak a bedtime snack? That’s going to get you in trouble when Jerry finds out you were playing around in here after everyone’s gone for the night.” said Kanda folding his arm across his chest as he looked down at her.

As she caught on to Kanda’s words after a few moments, Grace’s eyes narrowed. Frowning she waved a palm up hand up and down in front of Kanda before gesturing to the kitchen around them as she looked back to him with raised eyebrows, apparently questioning what Kanda himself was doing here in that case.

Kanda grunted in response before speaking. “I just got back from a mission and wanted something to eat.”

Pursing her lips, Grace thought briefly before gesturing for Kanda to sit down on a stool that was located near one of the prep counters. Moving around the kitchen Grace turned on a few of the lights then began gathering up the ingredients for a few varieties of soba and accompanying side dishes, laying them out neatly on the prep table before turning her attention back to Kanda. 

Confusion had colored Kanda’s expression as he hesitated briefly before moving to sit where Grace had instructed, folding his arms across his chest with one elbow leaning on the edge of the prep counter. Initially he watched with a frown as Grace began carrying over armloads of ingredients, until his expression smoothed when he eventually figured out what Grace as up to as she looked back at him with a questioning expression, while indicating the ingredients she had set out. 

After a few minutes spent with both Kanda and Grace going back and forth pointing at different things on the table while watching for the other’s reaction, a menu selection was decided. Nodding to herself Grace motioned for Kanda to stay put and set to work, putting a couple of pots to boil on the stove while she carefully began chopping up some of the selected ingredients. As she worked Kanda watched skeptically his eyes following Grace back and forth between the stove and prep counter, it looked as if she at least thought she knew what she was doing, but he still felt doubtful that was actually the case. 

A short time later Grace placed Kanda’s meal in front of him then stood looking up at him for a minute or two, as if waiting for him to try it, before giving up and going back over to the stove. Once Grace had moved away Kanda picked up his chopsticks, using them to poke at the pile of soba noodles in front of him. He spent a few moments nudging them around the zaru while frowning, before finally gathering up a small amount of the noodles in his chopsticks, lifting them toward his mouth. Kanda continued frowning as he chewed then swallowed, grunting softly after he had finished the bite, before going after another mouthful. While the quality of the cooking and flavor wasn’t quite up to the standard he was used to, Kanda decided that it wasn’t that far off either. 

_The pipsqueak must be picking up something from Jerry after all…_ mused Kanda while he continued eating, before looking over as he caught movement from close beside him, out of the corner of one eye.

Freeing one hand from the plate she was holding once Kanda looked over at her, Grace motioned toward the space beside him before bringing the hand to her chest, looking up at him inquiringly. 

Snorting lightly, Kanda shrugged. “Sit wherever. I don’t care.” He muttered before looking away and turning his attention back to his meal, as Grace set her plate down on the edge of the counter and moved to pull over another stool. 

Once Grace had been settled into eating for a little while, Kanda glanced over at her subtly, and noticed for the first time the bandages that adorned her forearms, not quite masking the reddened skin that peeked out from under their edges. Putting down his chopsticks as a frown began to knit his brow, Kanda reached out to poke none too gently at one of the bandages, a faint feeling of suspicion as to their cause starting to form in the back of his mind. “…What are these for?”

Grace flinched, letting out a soft gasp and swatting Kanda’s hand away as he prodded at the bandages that covered her arms. Looking over she narrowed her eyes in a glare, causing Kanda’s frown to deepen in response, before cupping her own hand defensively over the injury. After a few moments passed the heat in the glare Grace had fixed Kanda with faded, and she lowered her hand from her arm, turning her attention toward providing the explanation Kanda had initially asked for. 

Over the course of the past couple of days Grace had continued working with Johnny as she continued trying to learn how to activate her Innocence. Finally, earlier that day she had met with a measure of success as she had managed to briefly activate the Innocence, though doing so had not been without consequence. The injury, which had occurred during her last most recent attempt, had been painful. But also surprising both to Grace herself as well as Johnny, who had been very upset when he realized what had happened and quickly rushed her to the medical section for treatment. Leaving Grace in the care of the medical staff Johnny had collected the Innocence, explaining to her that he was going to make further adjustments to it in order to prevent a repeat occurrence, before disappearing.

Pointing to Mugen which was sheathed at Kanda’s hip, Grace indicated herself before tracing a crisscrossing pattern over her arm. Then pointing to Mugen once more Grace twisted her face in a pained grimace, pulling her arm toward her chest to cradle it protectively. 

Putting together the meaning of Grace’s gestures over the span of a minute or two, Kanda’s frown deepened, recalling the many failed attempts at synchronization that had been forced on him when he was younger. “…The Innocence?...” muttered Kanda as his gaze flicked back toward Grace, wanting to be sure, in spite of the strength of his suspicions.

Grace studied Kanda’s expression for a few minutes then nodded, her own brow knitting slightly before the expression faded as Grace put on a determined expression. Touching her arm once more Grace nodded firmly as she looked up to meet and hold Kanda’s gaze, as if attempting to reassure him and convey her confidence that she would learn to use and control her Innocence, before turning back to finish the remainder of her late night snack. 

Kanda’s lips twisted as he lowered his chopsticks to the tray before pushing it away as he abruptly stood. He was no longer hungry. Feeling Grace look over at him in response to his sudden movement, Kanda muttered something before turning and making his way out of the kitchen, ignoring the questioning look that continued to linger on his back until the door fell closed behind him. As he made his way down the hall, irritation and annoyance battled with one another under Kanda’s skin, causing him to grit his teeth angrily as he walked. 

Though he knew it was unlikely that Komui or any of the other scientists were actually doing anything comparable to what he had been put through, considering that it didn’t seem like Grace had been hurt that badly, the reminder of his past rarely improved Kanda’s mood. Even more so when the main participant still seemed so determined and eager to continue giving themselves over, and throwing their life away, to be used up by the Order in their ongoing war. While Kanda was aware that Grace had her reasons and some idea of what those reasons were, which he had always thought were stupid and had never agreed with, none of the knowledge Kanda had made the situation infuriate him any less.


	8. Chapter 8

For a short time after that Kanda had been a bit distant and more irritable than usual, around Grace in particular, though not to the point that he refused to interact with her entirely as he still at least continued to allow her to spend time working in the garden at the same time as him. Meanwhile Grace had appeared to pick up on Kanda’s shift in temperament and had given him a bit more space, reducing the amount of time spent trailing after Kanda throughout the Orders headquarters, without being certain of the specifics of the reason behind Kanda’s change in mood. Instead Grace had spent more of her time with Johnny as they continued to work toward controlling Grace’s Innocence and training her to use it. And in addition Grace had begun to hang out often with Lavi.

In the few months that had passed since Lavi and Bookman returned from their mission, the junior Bookman had been different, seeming somehow more human and normal. After a little while Grace realized that she no longer found Lavi as unnerving as she had in the past. She had come to appreciate and even enjoy Lavi’s company in the absence of Kanda’s, and as a result she continued to spend a portion of her time around Lavi until, and even after the swordsman had gotten over whatever it was that had originally upset him. 

Lavi looked up from the book he was reading while he roamed the halls of the Order, catching sight of Grace a little ways ahead of him, as he watched she continued on down the hallway in front of him before turning a corner. Glancing back down momentarily Lavi took note of where he had left off reading then closed the book, tucking it under his arm as he lengthened his stride to catch up with Grace. A few moments later Lavi tapped on Grace’s shoulder to get her attention as he came up alongside her. 

“Hey Grace, where are you headed? …Anywhere important?” asked Lavi as he half turned to face Grace while speaking, leaning down a bit in order to be closer to her eye level while they continued walking.

Studying Lavi curiously Grace hesitated briefly, then shook her head, her brow knitting in confusion as she looked up at the red-haired exorcist. 

“Great! …Then have you got a minute?” continued Lavi after Grace’s response, motioning down the hall with a tilt of his head. “There’s something I wanna show you.” 

After Grace had nodded once more Lavi turned on his heel to lead the way down another of the Order’s extensive system of corridors, motioning for Grace to follow him toward the room he shared with Bookman. Entering the room Lavi wove his way through the stacks of books and newspapers that littered the room, setting aside the book under his arm on one of the bunk beds before turning his attention to a specific pile of books to begin digging through it. As he worked on sorting through the books and papers Lavi found his mind wandering back to the lengthy discussions, which had at times bordered on being an arguments, that he had had with Bookman several weeks earlier.

.

Sighing Bookman shook his head, a subtle look of disapproval carrying across in his expression, as he looked up from the paper in his hands to gaze across the room at Lavi when his apprentice finally fell silent once more. “…How many times must I remind you? …As Bookmen our role is simply to observe and record what we witness,… and above all not to become personally involved with the subjects of our records.”

“I know,… I know.” replied Lavi as he nodded carelessly, his tone implying that he had heard the words or at least the general gist of them, a multitude of times before. “But this time is different right? This time we’re supposed to be acting like their allies. …Even you’ve been more willing than usual to pass along information we have to the Order and Komui.” 

“…The two are hardly the same thing. A minimal sharing of information is necessary in this situation, and vastly different than involving yourself in the affairs of the people here to the degree that you are suggesting doing. ...By proceeding you could even end up significantly altering the course of the war, should the child prove to be more powerful than anticipated and be placed in the field earlier than it appears that Chief Komui intends to.” Bookman’s eyes narrowed slightly as he frowned at Lavi, letting silence linger between them for a moment before continuing. “…Or should this be taken as a sign that you are beginning to allow yourself to form undue attachments to the people here? Don’t forget Lavi, that as far as we are concerned they are of no consequence, they are simply ink on a page.”

“Right…” muttered Lavi, letting out a breath before putting on a broad smile that was more suited to his current persona than his true self, as he spread a hand out from his side while one shoulder moved in a shrug. “A little sharing of information was all I was planning on. …Just making sure she gets her hands on a book on the subject isn’t really interfering that much. After all what she does with it after that is entirely up to her.” 

Bookman eyed Lavi skeptically for several long minutes before sighing, as he had his doubts about things going no further than what his apprentice claimed. In spite of Bookman’s misgivings however, it seemed that Lavi had also become rather set on his idea, given that this was not the first time they had discussed the issue in recent days. “Very well,… do as you wish.” agreed Bookman finally, returning his attention to his newspaper.

Once Lavi had finished expressing his reaction and gone back to his own reading Bookman lifted his gaze to study his young apprentice over the edge of his paper. Though it was subtle and there was likely still time, assuming that he was able to nip things in the bud soon, Bookman had begun to notice changes in Lavi since their return from the mission they had gone on several months ago. Despite his own efforts at detachment, he couldn’t help but be slightly concerned, as he could ill afford to lose another apprentice.

.

Extricating himself from his memories, and the pile of books and papers he had been digging through, Lavi set aside a couple of volumes before pulling one book free from the stacks, causing a small avalanche as it was removed. Turning toward where Grace stood nearby watching him, Lavi shifted from kneeling to sit on the floor as he held out the book to her.

“Here,… take a look at this.” said Lavi with a smile at the uncertain expression Grace wore as she took the book from him. It had taken him a little bit of time to secure the tome after Bookman had agreed however once it was in his hands Lavi had been able to quickly memorize the information contained inside, since unlike the other languages he had learned in the past, this one was entirely visual. 

Grace looked around for a moment for a clear patch of floor before sitting down nearby to begin flipping through the book. After watching her silently for a few minutes Lavi scooted closer, reaching out to tap one of the images on the book’s pages, the action drawing Grace’s attention back to him before he began speaking. 

“All of these different hand signs make up a language. One that deaf people use.” explained Lavi pausing briefly as Grace continued to look back and forth between him and the book in her hands. “…Right now I think I’m probably the only person around here that knows it, …but if you start learning the language maybe some of the others around here will too. Or if you meet someone else that’s deaf and you both know it, then you can talk to each other.” 

Dropping her gaze back to the book Grace absently turned another few pages as she worked to piece together what Lavi had been saying. A slight frown of concentration came to her face as she started to think it all over, until a tap on her wrist broke her train of thought. Lifting her head to look back up at Lavi, Grace watched as he rubbed the back of his head briefly before lacing the fingers of both hands behind his head while he continued speaking.

“…I mean, that’s not to say that the gestures you come up with now are bad exactly, since if one of us is having a hard time figuring out what you mean you can write what you’re trying to say. …But something standardized like this so the other people here can learn it would be better.” said Lavi, something that might almost have been sheepishness flickering in his eyes for an instant before he spread a hand out to his side in a shrug, his gaze sharpening as his eye fixed on her intently. “…It’d probably make it easier for you to understand all of us too, right?”

After studying Lavi for several long moments Grace nodded. Even though Lavi did have a point, and what he was saying was probably true, she couldn’t help wondering just how long it might take her to learn this new language, even with the book’s help. Not to mention for anyone else at the Order, apart from Lavi, to begin learning it as well. Grace knew it was likely to take quite some time, still something like this did seem like it might be easier to understand than trying to read everyone’s lips all of the time. Glancing downward she contemplated the edge of the now closed book which she held against her chest with both arms wrapped around it to support its weight, before starting to loosen her grip on it in order to hand the volume back to Lavi after getting to her feet, not certain if she was being allowed to keep it. 

Seeming to pick up on her uncertainty Lavi shook his head, holding up a hand. “No, that’s okay. You go ahead and keep it for now.” 

Nodding again, this time with more enthusiasm, Grace smiled tightening her grip on the book once again as she bowed her thanks. 

Lavi waved off Grace’s expression of gratitude, while putting on a smile that he thought seemed appropriate, before watching as the young girl turned to make her way out of his and Bookman’s room. Despite Bookman’s objections, for better or worse it was done now, and regardless of the potential consequences Lavi couldn’t help feeling good about what he had just done. Even if he probably shouldn’t have felt anything at all.

.

Eventually after time had passed Kanda’s mood appeared to settle somewhat, and Grace returned to following him around the Order as she had in the past. Occasionally when Kanda would permit it, Grace would join Kanda during his meditation sessions and sit nearby, either reading, studying, or knitting while Kanda meditated. Sometimes if something had happened during the day to particularly annoy him, rather than meditating the entire time Kanda would end up ranting about the annoyance, perhaps provoked by having someone else in the room other than only himself.

Huffing in annoyance Kanda opened his eyes, giving up on his mediation for the moment as it appeared that his frustration was outweighing its effectiveness. “… As if it weren’t bad enough that we get sent to some remote village in the middle of nowhere every time I get sent on a mission with him. This last time around the inn we’re staying at gets attacked by Akuma in the middle of the night. Then in the middle of the fight it starts pouring rain so hard you can barely see anything, which just means the Akuma start strafing everything in the area.” muttered Kanda his lips twisting into an annoyed expression as he shifted in place. “So because of that we end up not only having no place to stay and have to camp outdoors with no supplies, but on top of that the Innocence goes missing too, so we have to try to track down where it went after the fight’s over...” 

Looking up from the book she was studying to where Kanda was seated a short distance across the room from her, Grace realized that he had at some point begun speaking and after bringing her knees up toward her chest, she rested her chin on her folded arms to watch Kanda.

Glancing over, as if he had felt Grace’s attention focus in on him, Kanda’s gaze dropped momentarily to the book in front of her the annoyance on his face becoming even more prominent as he continued. “And then that idiot Usagi starts in, like he thinks the whole mission should just end up being some sort of vacation once we find another other inn that will take us after that, since the Innocence got lost. That idiot never takes anything seriously, but that doesn’t mean that everything should end up being turned into some joke. …Next time Komui tries to send me on a mission with him I’m going to…”

Kanda broke off as a gesture from Grace caught his attention, interrupting the flow of his rant. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he shot a look in her direction, ignoring the confusion on her face as he spoke sharply. “What?”

Pointing to Kanda, Grace then pointed to her lips before making a rolling motion with her hand, looking at Kanda intently. 

Frowning for a moment, Kanda rolled his eyes minutely as he figured out what Grace was wanting and began to repeat what he had said. 

“…I was saying that after that, that idiot Usagi started in and-…” A suddenly held up hand followed by a pointing finger cut Kanda off once again and prompted by Grace’s gestures he again backtracked through what he had been saying until he reached the word she was apparently questioning. “What,… Usagi?” At Grace’s nod, Kanda snorted in response. “I’m talking about that idiot redhead,… Lavi.” 

Grace’s expression cleared for a moment as understanding dawned, but just as quickly her frown returned, and she waved a palm up hand in a demand for further explanation. 

Kanda sighed his shoulders lowering slightly as he let out the breath, shaking his head as he gave up on the idea of meditating entirely, shifting out of the position he had been sitting in. “It means-…” Kanda trailed off, falling silent for a few moments before a faintly devious smile came to his lips. Pointing across the room to the book sitting in front of Grace, Kanda held out his hand. “Give me that book.”

Despite the confusion still evident on her face Grace did as instructed. Coming over to where Kanda was, she handed the book over before sitting down beside him.

Taking the book Kanda flipped through the pages until he came to the illustration for the signed word he wanted. He tilted the book so Grace could see it better as he tapped the picture. “That’s what it means.” explained Kanda as Grace glanced away from him to lean closer, peering over his shoulder at the image in the book.

.

Afternoon a few days later found Lavi making his way through the halls of the Black Order, occasionally waving or calling out to those he passed by as he headed toward the Order’s dining hall. Entering the large room Lavi went over to the ordering window, leaning down slightly to catch Grace’s eye where she sat peeling some vegetables and wave at her, before turning to greet Jerry and place his order.

Once Jerry had taken his order and turned away to begin preparing Lavi’s meal after chatting briefly with him, Lavi looked over to see that Grace had emerged from the kitchen and was making her way toward him. 

_“Are you going to come eat lunch with me?”_ Lavi started to sign as Grace approached, then paused his eye widening as Grace’s hands came up to the sides of her head, her paired index and middle fingers bending forward twice.

 _Rabbit?... Could she have picked that up from…?_ wondered Lavi, feeling a bit bewildered at Grace’s sudden use of Kanda’s nickname for him.

A snort from beside him jarred Lavi from his momentary surprise, causing him to look over and see that Kanda had at some point entered the dining hall without his notice, or perhaps he had been there the whole time but had carefully avoided catching Lavi’s attention until now. As Lavi looked over at Kanda a smirk curved the corner of the swordsman’s lips, no doubt in response to the expression he must have briefly worn. 

“Yu?...” murmured Lavi questioningly as he looked back and forth between Kanda and Grace. 

In spite of the flicker of annoyance that Lavi’s use of his first name sparked, a short laugh escaped Kanda. “How’s it feel getting a taste of your own medicine for once?” 

Lavi’s reaction to Grace’s use of Kanda’s frustrated nickname for him had been even better than he had expected it to be. When he had come up with the idea of instructing Grace to address Lavi with the sign he had shown her the next time she saw him, Kanda had expected to maybe see a momentary flutter of surprise, or perhaps for Lavi to make some sort of verbal response, but not the several moments of stunned silence that had occurred. He felt that he had had to put up with a lot of teasing and trouble from the redhead lately, or really since Lavi and Bookman’s arrival at the order, if he was being honest. But after having watched the other exorcist gape stupidly at Grace in reaction to the signed nickname for a minute or two Kanda felt as if he might have finally gotten a bit of his own back in return.

As if picking up on Kanda’s thoughts Lavi let out a dramatic groan as he pressed one hand to his chest. “Aww, Yu… Did you put her up to that? …Getting her to help you gang up on me like this,…You wound me, Yu.” whined Lavi before he leaned toward Kanda in an attempt to drape an arm around the swordsman’s shoulders while shaking his head. “…And here I thought we were friends.” 

“The hell?...” muttered Kanda incredulously, taking a step back to avoid Lavi’s grasp, one hand moving to pull Mugen from its sheath. “Why would you think I’d even want to be friends with you?”

Lavi began to reply, his response appearing only to serve in agitate Kanda further, judging by the way that Kanda growled as his hand shot out to knot itself in Lavi’s clothing. And just when it looked as if an actual fight was about to break out between the pair a firm, mildly irritated voice interrupted them. 

At some point Jerry had emerged from the kitchen and now stood with his arms folded across his chest, a ladle in one hand, as he glared toward Kanda and Lavi from where he was standing beside Grace. “If you two are going to fight, take it outside! I’m not going to have you two destroy my dining hall again. Not after the repair work in here just got finished.”

For a few moments Kanda seemed to be weighing options between summarily skewering the idiot rabbit in front of him, and risking being perhaps permanently banned from the dining hall and Jerry’s cooking, before his grip tightened on the front of Lavi’s shirt as he began to haul the protesting redhead toward the doors. 

Twisting in Kanda’s grasp as he was being dragged out to the dining hall Lavi looked back toward Grace, who had been watching things unfold with an increasingly concerned expression, giving her a wink for reassurance before calling out. “Someone keep my food warm for me!” 

Shaking his head as Kanda and Lavi departed, Jerry sighed as the dining hall door fell shut behind them. “…I don’t see why those two can’t learn to get along…” murmured Jerry as he let his arms fall to his sides before glancing down at Grace. Resting a hand on her head for a moment to get her attention, Jerry waited until Grace looked away from the doors Lavi and Kanda had gone through and up at him before continuing. “…Come on Grace, you just leave those two to their own devices for now. I’m sure they’ll end up being fine. More or less. …There are still a lot of vegetables that I need you to peel.” 

After Jerry had turned and headed back into the kitchen, Grace lingered for a moment longer, her brow knitting slightly before she turned and followed in his wake. Settling on the stood she had been occupying, once inside the kitchen, to resume peeling vegetables as she had been instructed.

**Author's Note:**

> I can be found on twitter as [ RennarenofAO3, ](https://twitter.com/RennarenofAO3)or on Tumblr also at [RennarenofAO3.](https://rennarenofao3.tumblr.com/)


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